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No. 310 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


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Drewitt’s Dream 

A S^rORT 


By 

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W. L. ALDEN 



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D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1902 



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THE LIBRARY OF 
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MAR 29 1902 

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CLASS cv XXa No. 

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COPY B. 


Copyright, 1901, 1902, 

By W. L. ALDEN. 



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Published March, 1902. 




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TO 


MRS. CATHERINE L. MORSE. 



DREWITT’S DREAM 


CHAPTER I 

The midnight streets of the sleeping town 
were black and silent. There was no moon, and 
the low brooding clouds shut out the stars. The 
night was cold, and the mud that had made the 
pavements slippery during the day had stiffened 
into ridges. No breath of wind was stirring, and 
the heavy air stagnated in the foul streets and the 
damp fields. The sparse and feeble lamps shed 
small round pools of dull light on the pavements 
below them. Elsewhere their rays were blunted 
and turned back by thick darkness. Groups of 
Thessalian refugees, foot-sore, ragged and starv- 
ing, were huddled in open doorways, and under 
the cavernous arched entrances to courtyards. 
On the steps of the Government building a Greek 
sentinel was sitting. His rifle lay across his 
knees, and his head rested bent and drowsy on 
his hand. North of the town, on the summit of 


2 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


the ridge held by the Greek army, a dying camp- 
fire glowed faintly, like a dim aurora. There was 
to be a battle on the morrow, so every one be- 
lieved, and the trembling and foreboding town 
had gone to sleep, as the criminal who sleeps 
soundly and heavily the night before his exe- 
cution. 

Suddenly the crash of the Turkish cannon 
jarred the dense air. The guns had accepted the 
foolish challenge of the unextinguished camp-fire, 
and were shelling the ridge. The drowsy sentinel 
sprang to his feet, and after a moment of hesita- 
tion, threw away his rifle and rushed down the 
street. From every doorway the dazed sleepers 
poured out. Men, women and children, half 
dressed, or nearly naked, fled toward the South- 
ern gate of the town. In a few moments the 
streets were crowded with fugitives. The earliest 
were those who were too terrified to listen to 
anything except the instinct to escape. Then 
came those who had waited long enough to 
seize such of their miserable possessions as their 
hands could carry. Following these were the 
horsemen and carts, inextricably mixed with the 
flying mob. Already in the distance could be 
heard the tramp and murmur of the Greek sol- 


V 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


3 


diers who had deserted the ridge without waiting 
to fire a shot. 

Outside of the gate, through which three con- 
verging streets had each poured its stream of 
fugitives, the narrowness of the road, bordered 
with stone walls, crowded them into a struggling 
mass mad with terror. The stronger flung aside 
or trampled on the weaker without thought of 
mercy. When a woman or child fell, feet and 
hoofs and wheels passed over the crushed body. 
There were men who shouted aimlessly, and chil- 
dren who cried in their wild terror, but for the 
most part the mob was a silent one, for the in- 
tense, absorbing desire to escape the pursuers, 
who were thought to be close at hand, left no 
room for thought or speech. Yet there were 
wretches in whom the habit of plunder was still 
strong. They snatched the bundles carried by old 
men and women, and tore the crusts of bread 
from the hands of children. Those who were 
despoiled made no protest. For them the end of 
the world had come, and it was only natural that 
kindness and honesty and decency should vanish 
in the universal wreck. The stony path cut the 
bare feet of women who either did not own shoes, 
or had fled without a thought of them, but they 


4 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


did not notice the pain of their torn feet. The 
damp night air pierced through and through the 
half-naked, the old, and the ailing, but they 
seemed unconscious of it. In that panic-stricken 
mob the terror of the Turks had swallowed up 
the universe. 

Swept along with the other fugitives was a 
young Englishman on horseback. He had 
reached the town late in the afternoon, on his 
way to witness the coming battle. The solitary 
inn was to the last degree uninviting, but hunger 
and weariness made him decide to stop for the 
night and to make his way to the Greek lines in 
the morning. He was sleeping fully dressed, and 
wrapped in his blanket — for any closer acquaint- 
ance with the bed was out of the question — when 
he was awakened by the sound of the cannon. 
He reached the courtyard just in time to rescue 
his horse, which the landlord was on the point of 
mounting; and on riding into the street with the 
intention of reaching the battlefield, he was 
caught in a torrent of human beings which it was 
impossible to stem. On reflection he judged that 
his wisest course would be to fly with the rest. 
He did not doubt that the Turks were in pursuit, 
and knew that if he were overtaken he would be 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


5 


cut down without regard to his nationality or the 
plea that he was a non-combatant. Still, his 
thoughts were more occupied with the abject 
cowardice of the Greeks than with his own safety. 
It was the first time that he had ever seen men in 
a panic, and the sight filled him with contempt, 
as well as horror. It did not occur to him that 
panic has no nationality, and that panic-stricken 
Frenchmen or Englishmen act very much like 
panic-stricken Greeks or Armenians. 

An uproar behind him made him fancy that 
the Turks were at hand; and he found himself 
wondering whether a lance or a sabre would be 
the weapon of his death. The uproar increased, 
and presently a gun — the only one the Greek ar- 
tillerists had carried away in their flight — ^burst 
through the mob. The gunners lashed their 
horses, driving straight forward as ruthlessly as 
if they were driving through a field of grain. The 
crowd, warned by the shouts of those in the rear, 
made frantic efforts to avoid the dumb, sullen 
cannon, that was doing far more deadly work 
than the blatant guns of the Turks had so far 
done; but at every yard men, women, and chil- 
dren were knocked down by the horses, or 
crushed by the gun-wheels. As the gun rolled 


6 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


by, grazing the Englishman’s horse, the wheels of 
the caisson passed directly over the face of a pros- 
trate old woman, who had been knocked down by 
the horses. The gleam of a lanthorn fell directly 
on the ghastly wreck of mangled features, and the 
Englishman, losing control of himself, struck the 
nearest gunner a heavy blow on the head with the 
handle of his riding whip. The man never moved 
a muscle, and apparently did not notice the blow. 
His lips were parted, his eyes staring, his cheeks 
drawn. His face might have been the face of one 
who had died in the utmost agony. He saw 
nothing but his horses in front; heard nothing 
but the Turks behind. All other sensations had 
been swallowed up by the measureless sea of 
panic. He was frozen into statuesque insensibil- 
ity by fear. 

“ Damned cowards ! ” exclaimed the English- 
man, scowling after the gunners, as the crowd 
closed again behind them. 

“Thank God! You are English. Oh! let me 
keep with you! ” 

It was the voice of a woman speaking in Eng- 
lish — a voice so wonderfully sympathetic that it 
would have sounded clear and distinct to him 
had it been the merest whisper. He turned his 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


7 


head, and close to his left stirrup he saw the 
woman’s upturned face. She was young and 
beautiful. He had seen many young and beau- 
tiful women, but this one stood apart from all 
others. As their eyes met the blood rushed into 
his face. He knew that he loved her, even 
though at the self-same moment the madness of 
the thing was plain to him. How was it possible 
that he could love a woman whom he had seen 
but a few seconds, and who had spoken only half 
a dozen words! Had the madness of the mob 
seized him? Had the recklessness that made the 
fugitives to the last degree brutal mastered him 
in another shape, and made him capable of the 
wildest folly? Should he yield to this inexpli- 
cable passion and let the current sweep him 
whither it would, or should he call on all the 
forces of his nature, and thrust the woman back 
among all the other women whom he had known 
or seen? In the infinitesimal time that these 
thoughts flashed through his brain he made his 
decision. He answered her, as if without an in- 
stant’s hesitation: “Yes, but it must be for- 
ever.” 

“ It shall be,” she replied, and the infinite 
meaning of her answer shone in her eyes. 


8 


DREWITTS DREAM 


“ Give me your hand,” he said. Put your 
foot on mine. So! Now spring up behind me. 
Are you seated? Then put both arms round my 
waist and hold tight.” 

'' I’m in no danger of falling. Only do not let 
me hamper you. Will your horse carry two? ” 

He will have to, whether he likes it or not. 
This is no time for consulting his inclinations.” 

She was silent for a few moments, and then 
she said: “ Can not we get out of this horrible 
crowd? If we could get away and die quietly it 
would be better than this.” 

There ought to be an opening in the wall 
somewhere near here,” he answered. “ I noticed 
it yesterday. Now that it is getting lighter, we 
may possibly find it and get through into the 
open field.” 

As if awakened by the cannon, the night 
breathed softly, and then with a long-drawn 
moan. The startled clouds slunk away in search 
of peaceful skies. The stars came out, and 
looked cold, contemptuous, and passionless on 
the panic and rage of men. In the east the first 
suggestion of the dawn was visible. 

With skill and patience the Englishman 
urged his horse nearer and nearer to the left wall 


DREWITT’S DREAM ^ 

of the road. The fields on either hand stretched 
dim and desolate in the faint light. The madness 
of the panic was shown in nothing more clearly 
than in the fact that not one of the fugitives 
thought of climbing the wall, and seeking safety 
in the open country. The instinct to keep to- 
gether and to press forward that is found in 
panic-stricken cattle dominated them. They 
would rush on till they fell exhausted, or were 
cut down by the Turks. They had lost all ves- 
tige of self-control and reason. For the time 
they were simply wild beasts. 

It was not long before the gap in the wall 
came in sight. The Englishman easily made his 
horse leap the low barrier of crumbling stone. 
No one followed him. His disappearance was 
not even noticed. Once over the wall he walked 
the horse cautiously over the rough ground in a 
direction at right angles to the road he had just 
left. The lights of the town were on his left, and 
he knew that the direction he was taking must 
bring him finally to the sea. There was the im- 
minent risk of meeting a troop of Turkish irregu- 
lars, or a band of Greek volunteers, but at least 
the chances of escape were greater than in the 
crowded road. Its terrible sights had been left 


10 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


behind, and in the fields he and his companion 
were safe for the moment. Daylight might bring 
what it would. It could bring nothing worse 
than the night that was nearly ended. 

As they rode on, the sound of the flying mul- 
titude faded. The Turkish cannon had for some 
time ceased to boom, but near at hand, between 
the town and the rear of the fugitives, the tramp 
of horses was plainly heard. The Turkish cav- 
alry, from the dread of which the mob had fled, 
was at last in full pursuit, and the dropping fire 
of their carbines drew nearer; while the bullets, 
as they rushed through the air, cried out sharply 
and pitilessly for their victims. 

The farther we can get away from the road 
the better,” said the Englishman. I hardly 
think those fellows will follow us so long as they 
find enough to do in chasing the Greeks, but 
they may send a few bullets after us if they 
see us.” 

They were now crossing a rough, stony plain, 
bounded by a steep hill that rose immediately in 
front of them. On the top of the hill stood a low 
stone house, but there was no sign of life near it. 

I know that house,” said the Englishman. 

It is a block-house, and the Greek flag flew over 


DREVVITT’S DREAM 


1 1 

it yesterday. I think we could not do better than 
to try to reach it before we are seen by the Turks. 
It is probably empty now, and if we could stop 
there till night, we should have more chance than 
we will have if we keep on during the day. Sit 
tight, and we will risk riding a little faster.” 

They rode on toward the foot of the hill. The 
day was now close at hand, and objects for miles 
around were growing sharp and defined against 
the gray sky. As they rode on together the 
woman clung closer to the man. He felt the 
round firm pressure of her breasts against him, 
and her breath warmed and caressed his neck. 
He had never sung in his life, but the impulse to 
sing was now strong upon him. The intoxication 
of happiness, which merges instinctively into 
singing, had mastered him for the first time in his 
life. He remembered to have heard that soldiers 
in a desperate battle often charge with fierce inar- 
ticulate yells. He found himself wondering why 
the strongest passions should scorn language, 
and seek expression in rhythmic or meaningless 
sounds. 

Just at that moment the Turks perceived 
them, and half a dozen shots were fired at them. 
One of the bullets struck the horse in the head, 


12 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


and he fell heavily, with his head between his 
shoulders. The woman was not injured, but the 
man was stunned. He had felt a sharp pain 
as though he had been struck heavily over the 
head from behind, and then his senses had failed 
him. 

When he came to himself he was lying on 
the ground with his head in the woman’s lap. He 
rose to his feet, and after putting his hand to his 
head, and finding nothing worse than a scalp 
wound, he decided that he was virtually unhurt, 
though he still felt somewhat shaken. 

I’m all right,” he exclaimed in reply to his 
companion’s earnest questions. “ I must have 
fallen on my head, and stunned myself. The 
horse’s neck is broken, and I’m glad it was not 
his leg, for in that case I must have shot him, and 
the sound of the revolver would have been sure 
to bring the Turks after us. After all, we should 
have been compelled to leave the horse at the 
foot of the hill, and we might as well leave him 
dead as alive. I hope you won’t let this accident 
frighten you.” 

“ I was afraid when you went down,” said the 
woman, “ but I am not in the least afraid now. 
I was never happier in my life. I have been wait- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


13 

ing for you all these years, and now I have found 
you.” 

“ Twenty minutes ago I did not dream of 

your existence,” said the man; “ and now ” 

And now you are mine and I am yours. 
Oh ! I know that I am quite mad, but I know, too, 
that you are the same. We love each other. I 
saw it in your face and felt it in your voice when 
you turned in the saddle and spoke to me. And 
you saw, too, that I belonged to you.” 

“ Yes, I love you. I know it, though I do not 
understand it. What does it mean, and why has 
it come to me? And you! How can you care for 
me? You do not even know my name.” 

‘‘ I do not want to know it until we are safe 
— if safety comes to us. You are my lover. I do 
not want to think of you by any other name.” 

They left the dead horse, and carrying his 
saddle-bags on his arm, the man walked by the 
woman’s side. It was a rough walk, even while 
they were on level ground, but when they began 
to ascend the hill, the loose stones gave under 
them, and the climb became toilsome. 

When they stopped to breathe, he asked: 

When did you first see me? I never noticed 
you until you spoke.” 


14 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ I had been near you for some time, but I 
thought you were a Greek, and that it would be 
a waste of time to ask your help.” 

Then our knowledge of each other’s exist- 
ence really begins from the moment that I swore 
at those brutes.” 

“ Yes! but that was years ago. I have known 
you all my life, or rather I never lived till I met 
you.” 

“ I, too, was thinking that there never could 
have been a time when I did not know you. 
There must have been, for I was not born last 
night, but nothing but you seems real to me now. 
I wonder if I am dreaming.” 

“ Then I, too, must be dreaming, and two 
people can not dream the same dream together. 
Besides,” she added, laughing, “ I am sure that 
I have not dreamed my shoes half full of stones. 
They are frightfully real.” 

She sat down and took off one shoe after the 
other to free it from the sharp bits of stone that 
had found their way into it. He watched her, 
admiring the delicate shapeliness of her foot, and 
thinking that he must get her a new pair of shoes 
should they ever escape to civilization. Before 
they resumed their way she turned from him a 


bREWITT’S DREAT^r 


15 


moment to draw up a disarranged stocking. The 
simple act rhymed with the sense of long inti- 
macy that he felt so strongly. “ Have I always 
been married to this woman,” he thought, “ and 
have I just waked up to find it true? ” 

Again he heard the faint crackling of distant 
rifle fire, and by the jets of smoke marked the 
course of a troop of Turkish cavalry scouring the 
open field. As he watched them he saw the glint 
of the first sunbeams on their carbines. They 
were clearly coming toward the hill. 

“ Are you tired? ” he asked. 

I am tired,” she replied, but what of that. 
I can walk any distance with you.” 

“ Then we must be getting on. The Turks 
must have finished with the ruck in the road, for 
they have taken to the fields. They may see us 
at any moment if we don’t get under shelter.” 

He put his arm around her waist to help her 
up the hill. She was plainly tired, for her breath 
came quickly, and he could feel the rapid heaving 
of her chest. But her courage never faltered for 
an instant. Whenever their eyes m*et there came 
a smile to her lips. Sometimes she would lean 
her head against his shoulder, and the caress 
seemed to envelop him body and soul. 


l6 DREWITT’S DREAM 

They reached the house at the summit of the 
hill without being noticed by the enemy, so far as 
they could judge. The walls were of stone a foot 
thick. There were two doors, one in front and 
one in the rear, both of which stood open. The 
place was lighted by a window at each end, high 
above the ground, and the front and side walls 
were loopholed. The Englishman looked out of 
the back door before he closed and barred it. 
The rear wall was only a few yards from a nearly 
precipitous descent, down which it would be ex- 
tremely difficult for any one, except an active 
mountaineer, to climb. Escape in that direction 
was hardly to be thought of. 

The Greeks had evidently abandoned the 
place hurriedly. There were half a dozen maga- 
zine rifles thrown together in one corner, and the 
same number of military caps of the pattern is- 
sued by the Greek Revolutionary Society. These 
caps constituted the sole attempt at uniform 
among certain of the Greek volunteers, and it 
was obvious that the garrison before running 
away had rid themselves of the evidences of their 
martial character by throwing away their arms 
and caps. 

The rifles proved to be loaded. The maga- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


17 


zines of two were filled, and those of the others 
contained a single cartridge each. There was 
besides a box of ammunition filled to the top, 
and standing open near the huddled rifles. In the 
fire-place were the ashes of the last night’s fire, 
and the empty pot in which the soup had been 
heated. The Englishman smiled as he thought 
of the possibility of English soldiers abandoning 
without a blow a position that a squad of brave 
men could have held against a regiment unpro- 
vided with artillery. 

“ I wish the Greeks, before they fell back 
from here to take up their stronger position, had 
left something for us to eat,” he said. 

His companion was sitting on a wooden 
bench, and her eyes had followed him while he 
was examining the room. 

“I am hungry,” she replied, “but it would 
choke me to eat anything those wretches had left 
behind them. Even I know enough of war to 
know that this place could have been defended by 
a half dozen determined women, and yet these 
sons of Leonidas have run away.” 

“ The house is altogether too strong for our 
purpose. I wish it was a straw hut instead of a 
stone fort.” 


i8 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Why SO?” 

'' Because a place like this can not be passed 
by unnoticed by the Turks. Its strength does us 
no good, for we do not propose to defend it, and 
it only invites a visit from our friends in the plain 
yonder.” 

“Why should we not defend it?” she ex- 
claimed. “ I am a good rifle shot. If the Turks 
come here they will kill us, whether we fight or 
not, and we might as well die fighting as in any 
other way.” 

“ But we are non-combatants,” he urged. “ I 
am a foreigner who simply came to see a battle, 
and you are a woman. They can not kill us ex- 
cept in violation of the laws of war.” 

“ Do you really think they will trouble them- 
selves with laws of any sort? ” 

“ Frankly, I don't,” he answered. “ If they 
come it will be all over with us, and if I were 
alone I might prefer to take it fighting rather 
than lying down. But I must not take away 
from you any possible chance of safety, however 
slight it may be. If there is a German in com- 
mand of the attacking party he may think it 
decent to restrain his men.” 

He glanced out of a loophole and saw that 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


19 


the Turks were riding straight toward them. 
In a few moments they would reach the foot of 
the hill, and if they intended to make an attack, 
would dismount and leave their horses. Watch- 
ing them closely he saw them halt, dismount, 
picket the horses, and begin the ascent of the 
hill. 

They are coming,” he said, as he barred the 
massive door, and strengthened it by bracing the 
wooden bench against it. “ I need not tell you 
to keep cool. You have plenty of courage, and 
besides, it is far from absolutely certain that they 
will molest you.” 

“ Perhaps I know the Turks better than you 
do. You might as well expect a Greek to be 
honest as a Turk to be merciful.” 

We have yet fifteen or twenty minutes be- 
fore they can reach here, and then they won’t 
be in a hurry to try the door until they know 
whether the place is deserted or not.” 

And when they do get in they will take us 
both for Greek volunteers, and think that each 
of us wore three caps and carried three rifles.” 

“ If we don’t run away, they can’t make the 
mistake of supposing us to be Greeks,” said the 
Englishman sardonically. 


20 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


She picked up a rifle and threw open the 
breech in a way that showed she was familiar with 
the weapon. 

Don’t shoot yourself,” he cried. '' That 
rifle is loaded; though to be sure you seem to 
know all about it.” 

'' I can shoot better than most men,” she re- 
plied. Why should we not try to hold the 
place. We two can make a good defence, and 
perhaps the Greeks may find courage to come to 
our rescue. There was a regiment of Evzones 
in the town yesterday, and they are not all 
cowards.” 

We could keep those fellows out for an 
hour or two; but if you are found with a rifle you 
throw away the one chance that your sex gives 
you.” 

''And you! What chance would you throw 
away? ” 

" None. I haven’t a ghost of a chance, no 
matter what we do. But at least leave me the 
opportunity of pleading for you before they make 
un end of me.” 

" Do you want to separate yourself from 
me? You are to die, so you say. Can you think 
that I would live without you? ” 


DREWITT^S DREAM 


21 


He took another loaded rifle in his hand and 
stood irresolutely looking out over the hill. 

The Turks were now close to the summit, 
climbing rapidly and stealthily up the slope, with 
their carbines slung across their backs. The very 
way in which they advanced had something cruel 
and feline in its aspect. 

“ Come,’’ she cried, “ I will decide for you.” 
She thrust her rifle through the loophole and 
aiming rapidly fired. One of the foremost Turks 
fell headlong, and remained motionless. He had 
been shot through the head. The others halted 
and threw themselves on the ground, where they 
were for the most part out of range. 

You have certainly settled the question,” 
said the Englishman. ''We shall have to fight 
now, and I am not sorry for it.” 

The light of battle kindled his face. He 
felt himself driven to bay, and that there was 
nothing left for him and his companion but to 
sell their lives as dearly as possible. After all, 
this was better than the weary uncertainty of 
waiting for the possible mercy of a barbarous 
enemy. 

The Turks had evidently hoped to find the 
block-house deserted, and now in their ignorance 


22 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


of the Strength of the garrison, were uncertain 
what course to pursue. The woman put down 
her rifle and came to the loophole where the 
Englishman was standing. The Turks had begun 
to fire at the loopholes, but none of their bullets 
entered. It was probable that they would con- 
tinue to amuse themselves in that way until they 
decided to rush the place. 

He looked at her as she stood for a moment 
silent before him. He noticed that she wore a 
dark blue dress, and that a large Greek cross 
hung at her breast. For an instant he wondered 
if he could be mistaken in thinking her English, 
and if she was a Greek after all. 

“ I am sorry,’’ she said. “ It was not my 
place to make the decision. Tell me that you are 
not displeased with me.” 

“You have done right. It is better to die 
like men — and you have the courage of a man — 
than to die like cowards. Besides, we shall die 
together.” 

“ And you will love me in that other world 
where we are going? And I shall never be with- 
out you? ” 

He took her in his arms. Her face looked up 
to his with a smile. 


DREWITTS DREAM 


23 

'‘You have never kissed me,” she said. 
“ Kiss me now before it is too late.” 

“ I shall love you through all eternity,” he 
cried. “ Did I not say last night that it should 
be forever? The words were sent to me as you 
were sent to me. It is not possible that we were 
made to meet for a few hours and then to be 
parted forever.” 

“ Will you kiss me to-morrow — after we have 
done with the world? I do not care to be loved 
as they say the angels love. I want your warm 
lips as well as your heart. I want the pressure of 
your arms.” 

“ Either we shall live or we shall sleep. If we 
live we shall love as we love now, for we shall be 
the same. I was a man here, and I shall be a man 
hereafter, if there is any hereafter.” 

“ Tell me that you trust me absolutely. I do 
not doubt it, but I long to hear you say it.” 

“ I trust you absolutely. I believe in you 
completely. Neither distrust nor death can 
come between us.” 

“ And you can say this to a woman who came 
to you out of the dark, and whose name and 
story you do not know? ” 

“ I can say it with my whole heart. Dearest, 


24 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


I have always loved to live, and dreaded to die. 
I think I have been afraid to die; but now death 
seems nothing. I will not live a moment if you 
are killed first. We will make the journey hand 
in hand.” 

She put her arms around his neck and drew 
his lips down to hers. One more kiss and we 
shall be ready to die,” she exclaimed. “ Good- 
bye till we meet again.” 

She went to her loophole. Scarcely had she 
reached it when the Turks sprang to their feet, 
and rushed in a disorderly crowd, straight to- 
ward the door of the house. The two rifles of the 
defenders rang out together. Five shots from 
one loophole, and four from the other, were fired 
before the enemy reached the door. All but one 
of the shots took effect, and the Turks, who had 
lost nearly a third of their number, after a faint at- 
tempt to break down the door, retreated beyond 
the crest of the hill, and lying down, resumed 
their scattered firing at the loopholes. The 
Turkish leader was by this time convinced that, 
although the number of the defenders must be 
very small, it was both futile and costly to expose 
his men, unless he had the means of breaking 
open the door when once it had been reached. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


25 


He was a brave man, for he made no effort to find 
shelter for himself, but strode calmly across the 
open space in front of the house, and descended 
alone the slope of the western shoulder of the 
hill. 

Can it be that we have beaten them off? ” 
said the woman, with an eager look of hope. “ I 
am not afraid to die, but it would be sweet to 
live.” 

Don’t deceive yourself. The fellow who 
leads those men knows his business. We shall 
be attacked again very soon, and this time they 
will try something better than sending men 
with nothing but carbines in their hands to break 
into a house with a stone wall a foot thick.” 

“ But they do seem to be discouraged,” she 
urged. “We have certainly hit a good many of 
them.” 

“ Nine killed and wounded is the butcher’s 
bill so far,” he returned. “ That ought to leave 
about twenty more of them. It is some consola- 
tion that there will be nine less Turks in the 
world to-morrow than there were yesterday, but 
that won’t entitle us to score a victory.” 

Presently the Turkish captain returned. At 
his order four men arose, and skirting the hill 


26 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


in the direction from which he had come, van- 
ished for a few moments. Then they reappeared, 
bringing with them a long, heavy pole, not un- 
like an ordinary telegraph pole. 

“ They have gone back to the battering- 
ram,” said the Englishman. “ That is quite ap- 
propriate on Greek soil. I only wish they had 
gone back to spears and bows as well, instead of 
using German repeating rifles.” 

Half a dozen men carrying the pole, as plate- 
layers carry a rail, were now coming rapidly 
toward the door, while the rest of the party kept 
up a brisk fire at the loopholes. 

“ Don’t waste a shot,” cried the Englishman. 

You take those on the left and I’ll take those 
on the right.” 

Again the rifles were fired almost simultane- 
ously, and two of the men who were carrying the 
pole dropped. Their places were instantly taken 
by two others, and the advance resumed. 

The woman took careful aim at the nearest 
man and pulled the trigger. There was no re- 
port, for the magazine of her weapon was empty. 

I am out of cartridges,” she cried. “ I’ll 
get a fresh supply from the ammunition box.” 

She filled her magazine, and brought a hand- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


27 


ful of cartridges to her companion. Once more 
she aimed and tried to fire, but again there was 
no report. 

'' Cartridge failed,” she said, in reply to a 
look from her companion. She threw out the 
worthless cartridge, and again attempted to fire, 
but the cartridge refused to explode. 

The Englishman meanwhile had fired, but 
with no effect, and had filled his magazine with 
the cartridges that the woman had brought him. 
But the first two that he snapped failed to ex- 
plode. A sudden thought came to him. He 
picked up one of the discarded cartridges and 
twisted loose the bullet. The shell was filled 
with sand instead of gunpowder. The patriotic 
contractor who had supplied the cartridges had 
not even taken the trouble to fill them with black 
sand, which would at least have had the appear- 
ance of powder. Another cartridge was opened 
with the same result. It was plain that the entire 
stock of pretended ammunition was useless. 

'' There are five shots in my revolver,” he 
said, ‘‘ but that is all we have. I think I will 
keep them until they enter.” 

How long will the door last? ” she asked, as 
it shook under the blows of the battering-ram. 

3 


28 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Possibly five minutes,” he replied. It’s a 
stout piece of oak. But drop your rifle, and get 
behind me in the corner.” 

‘‘ What for? ” she asked. “ Do you want to 
die first? I don’t think that would be quite cour- 
teous to a woman.” 

She was smiling and radiant, though her face 
was deadly pale. The door still held, but one of 
its hinges was yielding. 

'' Let us try the back door,” she cried. '' It 
will take them a minute or two to find us after 
they break in, and I had rather die outside than 
in this cage.” 

The Englishman tore open the door that 
gave on the other side of the house. The steep- 
ness of the descent would have made it seem 
absolutely impracticable except to desperate 
men. 

‘‘ We’ll try it,” he said; “ but I tell you can- 
didly that I don’t think the chance amounts to 
anything. If we don’t break our necks they 
will shoot us before we can reach that ledge 
yonder.” 

He pointed to a narrow ledge a short distance 
below them. They might reach it, but what 
would they gain by so doing? Still, if she 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


29 

wished it, he would attempt the descent with 
her. 

Cautiously, and with hands clinging to the 
coarse grass and projecting rocks of the slope, 
the two began their perilous descent. The Turks 
were so sure that the garrison could not escape 
by the rear that they had not taken the trouble 
to send even a single man to guard the rear door. 
The blows of the battering-ram rang loud while 
the fugitives made their way slowly down the 
precipitous hill. 

“ I begin to hope,” she said, that they will 
be so long working at the door that we shall still 
have a chance.” 

“ I can not bear to see you cheat yourself 
with impossible hopes,” he replied. Oh, my 
love! you were strong and brave just now; don’t 
lose your courage.” 

“ But I don’t want to die,” she cried. I 
want to live by your side! Oh, let us hurry! I 
don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! ” 

At that instant the crash of the door, as it 
finally gave way, made itself plainly heard. The 
Turks shouted as they rushed into the empty 
building. Then there was a moment of silence. 
They, however, quickly noticed the rear door, 


30 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


and comprehended that the garrison must have 
fled by it. They flung the door open and 
swarmed out on the narrow plateau. The fugi- 
tives heard their triumphant shouts and looked 
back. The Turks were already raising their 
weapons to fire. 

It is all over,” he said gently. “ This is 
death at last.” 

He turned to face the enemy with his arm 
around his companion. He sought gently to 
press her behind him, where she would be 
partly sheltered by his body, but she would not 
permit it. Her courage had come back to her. 
Like him she stood fearless and erect. She saw 
that it would be almost a miracle if the Turks 
missed them, for they were not thirty yards from 
the black mouths of the rifles. The moment of 
waiting seemed infinitely long. The silence 
seemed unbreakable. All at once a bird began 
to sing shrilly and joyously from a neighbouring 
clump of bushes. Then the Turks fired. 

The Englishman felt sharp stings of pain. 
The earth seemed to sink from under his feet, let- 
ting him down into a bottomless abyss. Black- 
ness swooped down and enveloped him. Then 
he lost consciousness. 


CHAPTER II 

Drewitt awoke in a long, well-lighted room, 
that looked singularly clean by contrast with 
Greek country inns. He was in bed, and his head 
was so low on the pillow that he could see only a 
little distance around him. He tried to lift his 
head, but the effort tired him. Near him he 
could see the head of another bed, and on the 
whitewashed wall by his side hung a card with a 
large printed heading. Although the window 
opposite to him was open, a faint smell of car- 
bolic acid was plainly perceptible. He felt ex- 
cessively weak, and his head was light and giddy. 
His eyes were reluctant to remain open, and the 
tired lids drooped as he tried to look about him. 

He was again awakened by a soft hand laid 
on his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw a 
young Englishwoman, in the uniform of a hos- 
pital nurse, standing by his side. She smiled as 
she answered the question in his eyes, and said: 

31 


32 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


'' Thank Heaven! You’re all right at last. Now 
take your medicine like a good boy, and go to 
sleep again.” 

“ Am I in a hospital? ” he asked. 

“Rather!” was the reply. “You’ve had a 
fever and a lot of gunshot wounds, but I said I’d 
pull you through; and with the blessing of God 
I’ve done it. Wait till you’re a little stronger, 
and then we’ll talk as much as you like.” 

“ But tell me first where she is. Was she 
killed?” 

“ I don’t know anything about any she, and 
what’s more, I don’t want to. There was nobody 
with you when you were brought in.” 

“ Did they find me on the hill? ” 

“ I’ll answer just this one question, and not a 
single one more. You were found in a peasant’s 
hut, up where the fighting is. I can’t remember 
those ridiculous foreign names. Nobody knew 
anything about you, but anybody could see that 
you were an Englishman, so you were , brought 
here. Now I’m going away, and you’re going to 
sleep, so don’t try to bother me with any more 
talk.” 

Drewitt yielded to his extreme weakness, 
and once more fell into a doze. When he awoke 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


33 


it was growing dusk, and an attendant was al- 
ready lighting the swinging lamp that feebly illu- 
minated the room at night. Presently the nurse 
passed near his bedside, and seeing that he was 
awake, took his temperature, and assured him 
that his fever had entirely left him. 

“ May I ask you another question? ” he said, 
as she deftly arranged his pillow. 

“ You had better say your prayers, and thank 
God that you are going to get well,’' she an- 
swered. 

“ So I will, but first tell me that you are ab- 
solutely sure that no woman, dead or alive, was 
found near me.” 

You are a tiresome boy! ” said the nurse. 
'' I’ve told you once, and I tell you again, that 
there wasn’t any sort or description of woman 
within miles of the place where they found you. 
The Turks had frightened them all away. 
You’ve had three weeks of fever here, and when 
I could understand your chatter it was generally 
about a woman who was shooting Turks with 
you. Now that you’ve come to your senses, the 
sooner you forget your crazy dreams the better. 
You’ll be up and about in a short time if you do 
as I say, and as I’ve saved your life, the least you 


34 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


can do is to mind me. Just you make up your 
mind that there never was any woman shooting 
Turks with you except when you were delirious. 
Tm the only woman you’ve got to do with now, 
and you’ll find me a terror if you don’t act sensi- 
bly.” 

The next morning he felt that beyond a doubt 
he was on the way to recovery. He was rapidly 
regaining his mental serenity. He could think 
without fatigue. He thought over the incidents 
of the night of panic, and recognised that they 
were far more like a feverish dream than they 
were like the possibilities of life. There never 
could have been such a delirious episode as his 
love for an unknown woman, and her love for 
him. What Englishwoman would have thrown 
herself into the arms of an utter stranger; 
shut herself up with him in a block-house, and 
fought the Turks like a man? If the woman of 
his dream had ever existed it was impossible 
that she could have escaped the shower of bullets 
that, if his memory was true, had struck him 
down on that steep hillside. And if he had been 
shot on the fatal ledge that he had seen in his 
dream, how could he have been found in a peas- 
ant’s hut? 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


35 


It had been a wonderfully vivid dream, but 
there could be no doubt that it was a dream, and 
nothing else. Perhaps it was a fair sample of the 
dreams that visit a man in the grasp of fever. It 
was too wildly improbable to be mistaken for 
truth. Again and again he said this to himself, 
but the memory of that night of panic, and that 
morning of combat and death, was so strong and 
dominating that it was with the utmost difficulty 
that he could convince himself that it was all a 
delusion. The final argument that satisfied him 
was the certainty that if he had been shot on the 
hillside in company with an Englishwoman, 
either she must, too, have been killed, in which 
case her body would have been found beside 
him; or she must have escaped the bullets, 
and been spared by the Turks, which was still 
more incredible. And then who could have 
carried his unconscious body down the steep 
hill and placed it in the hut where he was 
found? 

“ Nursey,” he said, when next his nurse 
came to his bedside, “ Pm as right as anything 
to-day. Sit down and talk a little.” 

'' ril talk a few minutes,” she replied, “ pro- 
vided you’ll be sensible; but I won’t hear any- 


36 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


thing about the woman that you were raving 
about.” 

Oh, I’ve given her up,” he answered. '' The 
whole thing must have been a dream, for it 
couldn’t have been true. But it did seem 
wonderfully real when I first came to my 
senses.” 

Then we’ll say no more about it. How 
does your leg feel this morning? ” 

As if it was a fragment of a Greek statue. 
What’s wrong with it? ” 

Compound fracture; that’s all. It’s written 
on the card up there. ‘ Malarial fever; gunshot 
wound in head; ditto in right arm; ditto right 
leg, with compound fracture.’ I can tell you 
that if it hadn’t been for me you’d have lost that 
leg the day you came into the hospital.” 

Were the doctors going to amputate it? ” 
he asked. 

‘'Well! Rather! There’s a young doctor 
here who had charge of your case, and when he 
saw you he said that leg must come off at once. 
‘Begging your pardon, sir!’ says I; ‘it don’t 
seem to me that bad, and it would be a pity to 
spoil such a fine young fellow.’ 

Oh, he’s booked, anyway,’ says the doctor. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


37 

' The fever and the wound together will give him 
his ticket.’ 

“ ‘ Then why cut off his leg? ’ says I. ‘ If the 
poor chap is going to die, let him die peaceable 
and in comfort.’ 

'' Then the doctor got huffy, and said that 
he didn’t require to have his duty pointed out to 
him by nurses. And then I got wild, though I 
know it was wrong, and I told him that there 
wasn’t any rhyme or reason in amputating your 
leg, and that I’d undertake to mend it myself if 
he would let it alone. And then he told me to 
hold my tongue, though he didn’t use exactly 
those words, and seeing that I was in for a fight, 
I up and told him that I’d see him damned before 
I’d let him lay a finger on your leg. It was the 
first time I’d used language since I was saved, 
but you see I’ve never been sanctified, though 
I’ve tried my best for it.” 

A sad look passed over the girl’s coarse but 
handsome face. Drewitt did not know precisely 
what she meant, but he felt infinitely grateful to 
her for having fought for him. 

So you got the better of the doctor, and 
saved my leg,” he said. I’ll not forget that, 
when I get out of here.” 


38 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Me and Mr. Gallegher saved it. While the 
doctor and I were glaring at one another, and I 
was making up my mind to throw him out of the 
window if he touched you, Mr. Gallegher, who is 
an awfully rich American, and has given a lot of 
money to the hospital, came in. He comes 
here pretty near every day to see the patients. 
He wanted to know what was up, and when I 
told him, he asked to see your leg. Then he told 
the doctor that, in his opinion, the leg might be 
saved, and that he’d consider it a personal favour 
if he’d let you chance it without undergoing am- 
putation. So the doctor, being afraid to dis- 
please Mr. Gallegher, said he washed his hands of 
the whole thing; and I could wish he’d wash 
them a little oftener, for they generally need it. 
He told Mr. Gallegher that your leg would mor- 
tify and kill you, but so long as nobody could 
blame him, he didn’t care what happened to you. 
Oh, he was in a wax, and he’s never spoken to 
me since, though much I care for that. He 
never came near you again, and I gave you medi- 
cines on my own responsibility. You’re my pa- 
tient, and the credit of pulling you through with 
both legs is mine, and nobody else’s.” 

She did not speak with any trace of self-ad- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


39 

miration. Drewitt saw in her face a flash of that 
curious light that sometimes illuminates the faces 
of the Salvation Lasses. He looked at her with 
wondering gratitude. He fully appreciated what 
she had done for him, but she filled him with 
curiosity. He had never before seen the same 
type of woman — a compound of coarseness and 
tender feeling; of piety and profanity. 

‘‘ You’re a trump, Nursey,” he exclaimed. 

You are sure that when I get out of this it will 
be on two legs? ” 

“ All I can say is that your leg’s doing beau- 
tiful. Mr. Gallegher, who was in the American 
war, tells me he never saw a man whose wounds 
healed better than yours. Your leg was 
smashed, and you had a bullet clean through 
your arm, and a nasty sort of swamp fever. I 
don’t count the wound in your head, for that was 
only a scalp wound. You’ve been very near go- 
ing out; but by the time I’m through with you 
I’ll lay you what you like that you’ll feel as well 
as you ever felt in your life.” 

'' Tell me your name,” he said. 

“ I’m Miss Simmons, but you needn’t call me 
that, though I’d like to see that doctor call me 
anything else. I’d smack him if he did. You 


40 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


can call me ‘ Nursey ' or ‘ Kate/ just which you 
choose. Now I’m going, for you’ve talked 
enough for the present. By-the-bye, your pock- 
et-book and papers are in my box. I made out 
from them that your name was James Drewitt. 
That was right, wasn’t it? ” 

“ Quite right. Good-bye, if you must go. 
Come back again as soon as you can.” 

In the afternoon the nurse brought a stout, 
sharp-eyed man, with obviously dyed hair, and a 
weary look, as of one habitually bored, to his 
bedside, and introduced him as Mr. Gallegher. 

He’s mending fast, sir,” said the nurse. 
‘‘ He’s got his senses again, and wants to talk 
me deaf, dumb, and blind, but I told him I 
wouldn’t have it. He’s to talk two minutes 
with you, and no more.” 

She turned away, as the visitor said: “ I am 
delighted, sir, to find you so much better. 
You’ve had a mighty close call — I should say, a 
narrow escape.” 

‘‘ I find I owe my leg to you and the nurse,” 
said Drewitt. 

Oh, between us we managed to euchre the 
doctor. Now, is there anything I can do for 
you? I don’t suppose you’re on your smoke yet ; 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


41 


I mean to say, I don’t suppose you are desirous 
of using tobacco; but just say when, and I’ll send 
you up some cigars.” 

“ Thanks, very much. When I am a little 
better I dare say I shall want to smoke again. 
I don’t seem up to anything but sleeping as yet.” 

Well, sir. I’ll leave you to your repose. 
Good-morning, sir; I shall do myself the pleas- 
ure of dropping in to see you again to-morrow, 
and if you can think of anything that I can get 
for you I shall be glad to bring it.” 

Drewitt shook hands feebly with the solemn, 
kind-hearted American. He wished that Mr. 
Gallegher looked a little less like a butcher on a 
bank holiday, and that he would not shave so 
closely that his face bore a suggestive resem- 
blance to a butcher’s stock in trade, but he recog- 
nised the kindly expression of the man’s eyes, 
and remembered that he was heavily in his debt. 

The weeks of convalescence passed slowly, 
but they were not altogether wearisome. The 
nurse spent much more time with Drewitt than 
with her other patients, for, as she said, he was 
peculiarly her own charge, the doctor persisting 
in ignoring his existence. When she was off 
duty she would often sit by his bed, and talk 


42 


PREWITT’S DREAM 


to him in her straightforward, plebeian English. 
It sounded sweet to him, for in the tones of her 
voice was the accent of mother love. She 
called him ‘‘ her boy and treated him as if he 
were in reality a fretful child. 

Once every day the American came to see 
him, and Drewitt found himself looking forward 
to the visit of the heavy, slow-voiced man. Mr. 
Gallegher’s conversational powers were not 
great, except when he spoke of himself. Then 
his cheerful egotism made him fluent. He did 
not possess a particle of the national American 
humour, but he was a novelty, and his peculiari- 
ties interested and amused the sick man. 

“ What might your profession be? ” asked 
the American one day. 

“ Fm an engineer,” replied Drewitt, ‘‘ and 
my business so far has been to build railways.” 

Just so! Are you intending to build a rail- 
road in this section? ” 

“ Hardly. Railways in Greece would put a 
stop to the chief industry of the people, which, I 
am told, consists in kidnapping travellers. I 
have been in India for the last five years, and I 
came to Europe because I took a contract to 
build a narrow gauge road in Italy, near Venice.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


43 


Drewitt wondered a little at his own com- 
municative humour. It struck him as odd that 
he should thus fully discuss his own affairs with 
a stranger. Still, the American was not like 
other men. He asked questions from a kindly 
motive, and without the slightest idea that they 
might be inconvenient. To answer them was an 
easy way of requiting his kindness. 

“ I had calculated,” resumed Mr. Gallegher, 
“ that you were here in search of culture. That’s 
what brought me here. They told me that 
Greece was the place where culture was invented, 
and I said, that’s the place for me. You see I’ve 
been a hard-working man all my life, and when I 
made my pile I said to myself: ‘ You’ve never 
had no advantages to speak of, and what you 
want is culture.’ So I started in to get it, 
though I don’t mind saying that I haven’t col- 
lared much of it yet.” 

“ I should hardly take you for a hard-working 
man,” said Drewitt. May I ask in what busi- 
ness you were engaged? ” 

Politics, sir! I was a leading politician in 
the State of Iowa for thirty years. Did you ever 
hear of Sallust City? Well, I was the boss of 
that city for ten years, and having made a for- 
4 


44 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


tune I thought I ought to retire from business, 
and live like a millionaire ought to live.” 

Politics seem to be profitable in your coun- 
try,” suggested Drewitt. 

“ So they are, sir, if you know how to look 
after your own interests, and don’t go in for mere 
honour and glory. I worked hard, and no man 
can say a word against my honesty. I made my 
money in a perfectly straight way. Nobody ever 
dared offer me a bribe, and nobody ever caught 
me in a crooked transaction for my own benefit. 
But, you see, that in my position I naturally had 
the earliest information about any intended pro- 
ceeding of the Common Council, let alone the 
fact that their proceedings were generally dic- 
tated by me. Consequently, when the Council 
started in to improve any particular part of the 
city I knew it beforehand, and bought up the 
most eligible real estate, and held it for a rise. 
No man could find any fault with that, and the 
fact that I gave up politics just as soon as I had 
made a fortune, shows that I wasn’t a politician 
for any ambitious or selfish purpose. 

There’s only one drawback about being a 
millionaire in America,” continued Gallegher, 
“ and that is that you’ve got to keep a yacht. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


45 


and what’s more, you’ve got to do a certain fair 
and square amount of yachting. It won’t do to 
keep a yacht, and let your friends use it, or use 
it yourself for sailing in smooth water. You’ve 
just got to buckle down and cruise, or the news- 
papers get after you. When I pulled out from 
Sallust City I went straight to New York, and 
called on one of the leading millionaires. I said 
to him, ‘ I’m a millionaire myself, but I’m new to 
the business, and I don’t know what the public 
expects me to do. You’ve had experience, and 
I’d take it as a favour if you’d give me a few 
pointers.’ The man laughed, and said to me: 
‘ The first thing you must do is to get a big 
steam yacht and make a cruise to Europe.’ 

'' ‘ But,’ said I, ' I don’t like sailing. It 
makes me everlastingly sea-sick. Besides, Amer- 
ica is good enough for me, and I don’t hanker 
after Europe.’ 

“ ' That don’t make any difference,’ says the 
millionaire. ‘ We all hate yachting, but we have 
to do it all the same. In our position the public 
demands it of us. You get a yacht and go up 
the Mediterranean. Then you’ll be doing your 
duty to the public, and improving your mind at 
the same time.’ 


46 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ ‘ Now you’re talking/ said 1. ‘ Improving 
my mind, which I reckon is the same thing as 
getting culture, is what I’m bound to do. This 
yachting is going to be mighty hard on my liver, 
but when it’s a question between mind and liver, 
I vote for the former every time. I’ll go up the 
Mediterranean, and if there’s any culture lying 
around there I’ll gather it in.’ 

“ That New Yorker was a first-rate chap, 
though as a rule I don’t care for New Yorkers. 
There was one of them who called himself a re- 
former, who came to Sallust City and made a 
speech denouncing me as a corrupt Irish dema- 
gogue, which I wasn’t any one of the three. This 
New York millionaire sort of looked on me as 
one of his own kind, and he gave me a lot of 
pointers; sent me to his tailor, and wrote out 
names of a lot of books for me to take to sea 
with me. The very first one that I read said that 
Greece was the mother of all culture. I’ve been 
lying here at the Piraeus for going on to three 
months, but I haven’t seen any culture yet. I 
won’t say but what one reason for my stopping 
so long here is that the yacht’s a sight more com- 
fortable lying in the harbour, than she is when 
she is trying to stand on her head at sea; but. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


47 


after all, culture is what Fm looking for. If you 
could lend me a hand in the matter I should be 
everlastingly obliged to you.” 

“ What have you been reading? ” asked 
Drewitt. 

“ Well! I’ve gone pretty near through with a 
book called the Art of Polite Conversation, and 
as a rule I try to follow its instructions, though 
when I get talking with you friendly and 
familiar-like, I seem to forget most of them. 
Then there’s the Encyclopaedia Britannica. I 
started in to read the entire book, but it’s a 
tough job. I got along fairly well till I struck 
something about the Differential Calculus, and 
that threw me. I can’t make head or tail of it, 
and I don’t want to go on and leave it without 
having a fair grip of it. 

“ Then I’ve read a book by a man called 
Twain. Mark Twain is his full name. It tells a 
good deal about the Mediterranean, but I don’t 
altogether take to it. There’s times when I half 
believe that Mr. Twain is trying to fool his read- 
ers. Some of the things he says don’t seem to 
me genuine facts, though, of course, it ain’t for 
me to find fault with a man who can write a 


book.” 


48 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Perhaps/’ suggested Drewitt, “ some reg- 
ular course of study would be better than mis- 
cellaneous reading.” 

“ That’s just what my doctor said, for I’ve 
got a doctor aboard the yacht, and would have 
had a chaplain, just as the New Yorker told me 
I ought to have, if it hadn’t been for an accident. 
The doctor, who is a mighty smart man, is learn- 
ing me the bones of the human body. He says 
there’s a lot of culture in bones, but I can’t ex- 
actly see how bones are going to improve the 
mind. However, the doctor being an educated 
man, must know better than me. I’m pretty 
considerable ignorant outside of politics, and no- 
body knows it better than I do. What do you 
think of bones, yourself, sir? ” 

I’m not sure that you have made the best 
possible selection of studies,” replied Drewitt. 

If you care to have me do it. I’ll give you the 
names of two or three books that might be of 
use to you.” 

‘‘You’re a prime good fellow, sir!” ex- 
claimed the millionaire. “ When you were clean 
crazy — I should say, suffering the pangs of de- 
lirium — I heard you chattering part of the times 
in foreign languages, and I said to myself, ‘ That 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


49 


chap’s got culture, and lots of it.’ I’ve taken a 
particular interest in you, sir, ever since I had the 
pleasure of that discussion with the nurse and the 
doctor, about your leg, and I’ve felt all along 
that something would come of our acquaint- 
ance.” 

“ Our acquaintance has certainly been very 
valuable as well as pleasant to me,” said Drewitt, 
‘‘ but I am afraid it can not last much longer. 
The first day I can move I must go to Venice to 
look after my contract.” 

According to the books,” said Gallegher, 
“ Venice is one of the places I’ve got to see. I 
understand that it is built on rafts, and just floats 
on the water. Real estate must be awfully dear 
in those parts, if people have to take to living on 
rafts.” 

“ It isn’t exactly built on rafts,” replied Drew- 
itt, '' and it doesn’t quite float. Still it is an 
interesting place, and you must not go home 
without seeing it.” 

“ Thank you, sir, for the pointer. I’ll go to 
Venice when I leave here. Speaking of Venice, 
might I ask you how you came to be fighting 
the Turks in Greece, if you were on your way 
from India to Venice? ” 


50 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ I had two months of leisure, and I wanted 
to see a battle. It was idle curiosity, and I paid 
for it.” 

Then you weren’t one of those lunatics that 
came here from England to fight for Greece. 
Did I understand you to say that you took a 
hand in a battle? ” 

'' That is precisely what I don’t know. I 
haven’t the least idea where or how I came to be 
wounded. I had a dream about it while I was 
delirious, and I wish the dream had been true, 
but it wasn’t.” 

“ Dreams interest me some,” said the million- 
aire. I dreamed one night that the Common 
Council of Sallust City were going to build a 
market at the junction of Twenty-first Street and 
Washington Avenue. The next morning I sent 
a bill to that effect to the Council, and bought 
options on all the real estate where the market 
was going to be. I realized sixty thousand dol- 
lars on that one deal, and ever since then I’ve felt 
a good deal of respect for dreams. If you felt 
inclined to tell me what your particular dream 
was, perhaps you and I together might make 
something of it.” 

Drewitt told the American his dream, sup- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


51 


pressing only certain passages between himself 
and the woman, which, although he fully be- 
lieved them to be the mere fancies of fever, he 
could not bring himself to repeat. Gallegher lis- 
tened attentively, and when the recital was ended 
said: 

“ You reckon that that was nothing but a 
dream from beginning to end? Well, I’m not al- 
together with you there. I mean to say that I 
do not entirely accept your version of the matter. 
It sounds a sight too blamed straightforward — 
I should say, too eminently pellucid — to be the 
work of a crazy brain. In my opinion, sir, there’s 
a certain amount of foundation for that dream, 
and if I was you I would investigate the thing 
when the proper time comes.” 

Drewitt smiled incredulously. He had be- 
come absolutely certain that the events of the 
night of panic were wholly without any reality. 
As to the suggestion that the dream deserved to 
be investigated, it had no meaning for him. 
How could he investigate what never existed? 
He said as much to the American. 

When I say,” said Gallegher, “ that what 
you call a dream might have had some sort of 
foundation, I don’t mean that you ever carried off 


52 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


a lady on horseback, or fought with her against 
the Turks — I ought to say, engaged in a diffi- 
culty with the enemy. But after you were 
wounded, and laid up with the fever, there may 
have been some lady who took care of you, and 
you mixed her up with the things that came into 
your head while you were crazy. If I was you I’d 
investigate the thing. Find out just where it was 
that you were found. Find out who found you, 
and who took care of you before the ambulance 
people got hold of you. Depend on it, dreams 
don’t make themselves. Every dream that a 
man has must have something to do with what 
has happened, or maybe what is going to happen 
to him.” 

I’ll admit that dreams may be founded on 
what has happened, but I don’t believe that they 
have anything to do with the future.” 

‘‘ I’m not so sure of that,” replied Gallegher. 
'' I don’t mind telling of a dream that I’ve had 
twice, two nights running. I dreamed that I 
was the boss of an island inhabited by a gang 
of white savages. I was a sort of emperor, as 
you might say, and you can just bet I made 
things hum. That is to say, I created a revival 
of business. For one thing, I established a tariff 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


53 


with a duty of a thousand per cent, ad valorem 
on everything that might be imported, and I 
calculate that the McKinley tariff looked pretty 
small alongside of mine. I gave every soul on 
the island a pension of a thousand dollars a year 
for his sufferings that he might have in the next 
war, and I kept the Government presses running 
night and day to print greenbacks, so that every- 
body could have as much money as he wanted. 
But one day I was struck by lightning, and that 
was the end of the racket. Now, what do you 
make of a dream like that, sir? ” 

“ It rather suggests that you were meant to 
write burlesques for the theatre. You might do 
worse than dramatize that dream, and bring it 
out in a New York theatre just before a Presi- 
dential election.” 

Fve an idea,” continued the American, 
without replying to Drewitt^s suggestion, “ that 
there is more or less of prophecy in that dream. 
I looked at a lot of islands, on my way here, 
thinking that perhaps I might strike the identical 
island that I dreamed about. There was one 
about a hundred miles from the Piraeus that 
seemed promising. There were only about 
thirty people on it, and they were first-class white 


54 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


savages. But I found that they didn’t want a 
boss, and weren’t worthy of the blessings of a 
tariff. Perhaps I’ll find the right island before I 
get through with this yachting foolishness, and 
if I do I’ll send for you to build me a railroad. 
But there; you don’t take any stock in my dream, 
I can see. What I want you to do is to take a 
little in your own dream, and begin by finding 
out if any lady nursed you when you were first 
picked up.” 

There was a woman who took care of me,” 
said Drewitt; ‘‘she’s taking care of me now in 
the best possible way. But she’s too substantial 
to be a dream.” 

“ You refer, sir, to Miss Simmons. Let me 
tell you that she is one of the most remarkable 
young ladies now living. I’m proud to know 
her, sir, though she’s a nurse and I’m a million- 
aire. If it hadn’t been for her you wouldn’t be 
here to-day, at least not with a full supply of 
legs. I trust, sir, you appreciate that remark- 
able young lady.” 

Drewitt was a little annoyed at the Ameri- 
can’s tone, but he gladly echoed his praises of 
the nurse, and when his visitor had left him, 
and the nurse came to smooth his pillow, he 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


55 

told her that she had made a conquest of Gal- 
legher. 

Go along with you! ” said the nurse, scorn- 
fully. Don’t talk rubbish to me. I wouldn’t 
marry the best man living, even if I had the 
chance. Miss Wynne learned me better than 
that.” 

'' Who is Miss Wynne? ” asked Drewitt. 

“ She’s a saint, that’s what she is. It was 
through her that I was saved. She’s the best 
woman that ever drew the breath of life, and she 
knows that it is wrong for a woman to marry 
when she’s once learned that there is something 
better.” 

Where is this remarkable woman? Not 
here, I suppose? ” 

‘‘ She’s in India just now, but I’m to meet 
her in Venice in about a month, and what- 
ever she tells me to do I shall do it, even if it’s 
to come back to this miserable hole and try to 
save the Greeks, which to my mind would be 
about like trying to save a lot of wild cats.” 

Tell me more about her,” said Drewitt. I 
can’t sleep, and there is nothing to read. Tell 
me how this saint managed to save you, and what 
she saved you from.” 


56 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Three years ago,” said the nurse, '' I was a 
lost sinner. I was a barmaid down Westminster 
way, and Td got into the way of drinking now 
and then with the gentlemen, till I couldn’t get 
along without it, and a good deal of it, too. I 
never went to church, and I hadn’t any more 
idea of religion than a horse. I was straight 
enough. You needn’t think I wasn’t. Nobody 
could say a word against my character, but I 
was a poor, ignorant sinner. Sometimes I took 
more than I could carry, and one day when I 
was pretty full I got into a quarrel with an im- 
pudent young blackguard, and the manager 
came in and sacked me. I hadn’t a friend to turn 
to, and that evening, if ever a girl was on the 
road to ruin, I was. The next afternoon I was 
walking along the street, wondering where I was 
to get my dinner, and what was going to become 
of me anyway, when I came on a little ring of 
Salvationists. They’d finished singing, just as I 
came up, and a woman was standing in the mid- 
dle of them preaching. In those days I thought 
the Salvation Army was just a pack of fools, but 
having nothing else to do I stopped to hear what 
the woman was saying, and she saw me. After 
that she didn’t seem to speak to anybody else. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


57 


She went on telling me what a miserable lost 
woman I was, and how easy it was to get saved, 
if I would only listen to the angels instead of the 
devil. I stopped there till the meeting was over, 
and the tears were running down my cheeks. 
Oh, I was all right enough, for I hadn’t had a 
drop that day; so it wasn’t drink that made me 
cry. When the preaching was over, and the 
woman had prayed a beautiful prayer, such as you 
can’t hear in the handsomest church in London, 
she came straight up to me and put her arm 
around my neck, and said: ‘ Sister, you’re com- 
ing home to tea with me.’ Then she called a cab 
and put me in it and got in herself, and we drove 
off while the street boys were chaffing us. And 
I says to her, as the cab started: ‘ Oh, ma’am, I 
do want to be saved, but I’m an awful bad lot; ’ 
but she just held me close to her and kissed me, 
though for all she knew I might have been a 
regular street-walker. 

“ Well! she took me to her house, which was 
as big and handsome as any house in the West 
End, for Miss Wynne is as rich as anything. I 
found out that she lived all alone with two maids 
who had been saved through her. After I had 
washed my face and done up my hair in a room 


58 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


that was fit for a princess, I went downstairs, and 
we had tea, and cake, and jam. And I told her all 
about myself, and just how I’d lost my situation, 
and how I wasn’t fit for anything but the river. 
And she talked to me with her arm round my 
waist, and a look in her face just like what the 
angels have in heaven. And then she prayed 
with me, and when I got up from my knees I was 
saved. I owe it all to Miss Wynne, and I tell you 
there isn’t another woman like her in the whole 
world.” 

Did you join the Salvation Army? ” asked 
Drewitt, as the nurse sat silent, 'as if she had for- 
gotten his presence. 

Not regular. I went to the meetings, and 
gave my testimony, and helped as well as I could, 
but Miss Wynne said that it wasn’t every one’s 
call to be a Salvation Lassie, and she thought I’d 
do better to be a hospital nurse. It was all one 
to me. I’d have been a blacksmith, or a stoker, 
if she had given me the word. So she got me 
into a hospital, and when this war broke out 
she told me to volunteer as a nurse. She never 
let me be very long out of her sight while I was 
in the hospital. Every time I got a few hours 
off she had me come to her, and she taught me 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


59 


to read and write, and everything I know out- 
side of hospital work. I’m her bound slave, and 
Tm proud of it, and so would you be too if you 
knew her. I’d give a good deal if you could see 
her just once. You’d find that you couldn’t help 
yourself, and that you’d have to be saved 
whether you wanted to be or not.” 

What did you mean the other day when you 
said that you had never been sanctified? ” 

'' I meant just what I said, and the more 
shame to me. After you are saved the next 
thing is to get sanctified. Then you never com- 
mit any more sins. You never hanker after beer, 
or spirits, or tobacco, and you never want to go 
to the theatre or read novels. All you think of 
is the Bible, and how to do good. I ought to 
have been sanctified long ago, but somehow I 
never could manage it. To this day I want my 
beer as much as ever I did, though I never touch 
it; and whenever I get excited I feel just like 
using language. I don’t think of young men, 
and courting, and marriage, and such like, for 
Miss Wynne drove that all out of me, but I 
think of things that have nothing to do with sal- 
vation. The other day I picked up a novel that 
one of the doctors had been reading, and I read 
5 


6o 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


about twenty pages of it before strength was 
given me to tear it in pieces and put them in the 
fire. And now I keep thinking whether the 
young woman in the story married her young 
man, and whether he or somebody else com- 
mitted the horrible murder. Oh! It was a beau- 
tiful murder, and nobody could make out who 
did it or how it was done. But there! IVe no 
right to talk about such things. Miss Wynne 
told me that I must keep on trying to get sanc- 
tified, though it was her opinion that there 
wasn't much chance that I'd ever fetch it." 

I think I prefer you as you are. If there's 
a better woman anywhere in the world I've 
never seen her." 

“ You mustn't say that to me," replied the 
nurse. “ It isn't true, and it might build up self- 
righteousness in me. The worse we think of 
ourselves the better it is for us." 

“ You say that this saint of yours is to be in 
Venice in a month? " 

In about a month. She is coming from 
Bombay, where she has been working among the 
natives, and she wrote to me to meet her in 
Venice. I must say that I don't exactly know 
where Venice is, but I suppose they can tell me 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


6l 


at Cook’s office. They must have heard of it 
there.” 

I mean to go to Venice as soon as I can get 
out of bed,” said Drewitt. Suppose we go to- 
gether. I can show you the way, and you can 
take care of me, for I sha’n’t be very strong when 
I first get on my legs again. Then you can take 
me to see Miss Wynne and perhaps she’ll make 
a Salvationist of me.” 

“ It would be a good job if she did. A fine 
young man like you should be saved, and give up 
serving the devil. I’m afraid I haven’t done my 
duty to your soul. I know I’m only a nurse that 
used to be a barmaid, and you’re a gentleman 
and a swell, but we’re all equal while we are sin- 
ners, and I ought to have talked more to you 
about religion, and less about your leg. There’s 
the doctor who wanted to cut it off, standing 
over there by the doon I’d like to get my hands 
in his hair. I’d let him have what he deserves 
for trying to kill a patient and insulting a nurse. 
It’s a shame that such idiots should be allowed 
to handle surgical instruments, except to cut 
their own worthless throats.” 

“ Nursey! Nursey!” he cried, laughing. 

I’m afraid you’re right in saying that you’re 


62 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


not sanctified, but I shall like you just as well if 
you never are. I’m afraid that if you had been 
sanctified you never would have kept that fel- 
low’s knife out of my leg.” 

Perhaps that’s so. Maybe I was kept from 
being sanctified, so that I could be a match for 
the doctor. Anyhow, I saved your leg, and 
pulled you through the fever without any thanks 
to any wretched little puppy of a doctor. I hope 
I did right, but even if I didn’t I’d do it again.” 

Slowly the days wore on. The war was over, 
and there were no more wounded to be brought 
into the hospital. One by one the patients 
were discharged, some by death and some with 
returning health. At last only two were left, 
Drewitt and a Greek who was dying from an in- 
curable disease. With the coming of the spring, 
Drewitt gained rapidly in strength. He was 
now able to walk with crutches, and he spent 
most of his time in the garden. It was thought 
that the order for closing the hospital might ar- 
rive at almost any day. Only a single doctor and 
a single nurse were retained on the staff. Drew- 
itt had become so accustomed to the idle, easy 
life of a convalescent, that he rather dreaded the 
day when he should be compelled to leave the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


63 

hospital. He knew that he would miss the affec- 
tionate care of the nurse, and as yet felt no de- 
sire to resume the active life that had formerly 
been his chief pleasure. 

One morning the millionaire made an earlier 
visit than usual to the hospital, and after chat- 
ting for some time with Drewitt, as the two sat 
under the shade of the trees, he said: 

“ Well, sir, I’ve been studying your case late- 
ly, and it’s my opinion that you’ve got all the 
good out of this hospital that you’re going to 
get. The sooner you get away from here, the 
sooner you’ll get well.” 

'' I don’t doubt it,” Drewitt replied, “ but 
when I leave here I must go to Venice, and they 
tell me that I can’t secure a passage until nearly 
the middle of next month.” 

“ That’s all right,” said Gallegher. What’s 
the matter with going to Venice in my yacht? 
I’ve stopped here about as long as I can stand it, 
and I can’t see as I’m getting an ounce of culture 
by it. You said I ought to see Venice, and I’d 
as soon go there as anywhere else. You just 
come along with me. I’ll make you as com- 
fortable aboard the yacht as a man can be at sea, 
which ain’t saying very much, and I’ve got a 


64 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


first-class doctor with me who’ll fix you up in 
no time. What do you say? I’ll be proud to 
have you with me.” 

I would go with pleasure,” Drewitt an- 
swered, “ but I told the nurse that I would see 
her as far as Venice, where she has to go when 
she leaves here. She hasn’t an idea where Venice 
is, nor how to get there, and I can’t decently 
abandon her after what she has done for me.” 

Don’t you worry about that. I’ve spoken 
to Miss Simmons, and she’ll come along with us. 
She’ll be company for the doctor’s wife and 
daughter, who find the yacht middling lonesome, 
and she can take care of you if anything goes 
wrong with you, and you should happen to want 
a nurse. If you and she are ready, we’ll start 
next Monday morning at ten o’clock sharp. 
You’ll throw those crutches overboard before 
we get to Venice, and if you’ve got any scruples 
about accepting my invitation, you can square 
the thing by showing me around Venice, after we 
get there.” 

Drewitt frankly accepted the millionaire’s 
generous offer, and the following Monday the 
yacht steamed out of the harbour on its way to 
Venice. 


CHAPTER III 


The Caucus was a beautiful steamer of eight 
hundred tons. No possible expense had been 
spared in building and decorating her, and when 
Drewitt entered the saloon he was astonished at 
the admirable taste that was everywhere dis- 
played. He had expected to find the saloon gar- 
ish with mirrors, gilding, and chromos, but there 
was no touch of vulgarity, no matter where he 
looked. 

'' If I remember right, you did not build this 
vessel yourself,” he said, as he sat on the deck 
by the side of the millionaire, and watched the 
blue mountains grow dim and hazy in the warm 
distance. 

No, sir! I bought her ready-made of a 
New Yorker, who had just built her when he got 
on the wrong side of the market, and lost all his 
money. It must have been a consolation to him 
to reflect that after all he need never go to sea in 

65 


66 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


her. The only thing I did with her was to change 
her name. She was named after some woman 
of his family, I expect ; anyhow, her name was the 
Aphrodite, and as I didn’t know any woman of 
that name, I just called her the Caucus, for the 
reason that the beginning of my success in life 
was getting a good grip on the Democratic cau- 
cus in our city — I should say, obtaining control 
of the caucus.” 

And I suppose that the captain and crew 
went with her.” 

No, sir. The New Yorker hadn’t got so 
far as engaging anybody except a cat, and the cat 
concluded to come along with me. When I 
found that I’d got a yacht on my hands I went to 
the manager of one of the steamship lines and I 
said to him: ‘ I want officers and crew for my 
yacht. You just come down and sort of take the 
measure of the boat, and then furnish me with the 
crew that I want. I don’t care what they are, 
providing they’re first-class. You get them for 
me, and I’ll pay you any reasonable commission.’ 
He said that it wasn’t his business to furnish 
crews, and he couldn’t possibly do it, but what 
would I be willing to pay? So I told him, and 
he opened his eyes, and went to work and fitted 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


67 


me out with a whole ship’s company. So far as I 
can see, they’re a good lot — all excepting the 
chief engineer, who ain’t precisely my style. But 
my troubles began just as soon as my old friends 
heard that I had a yacht. They sent me a steady 
stream of men, who wanted situations, where 
they wouldn’t have anything to do, and needn’t 
take the trouble to do it. Most of them were 
Irishmen, who had been political workers in 
Sallust City, and they never doubted that I 
would give them good situations aboard the 
yacht. But I said, ‘ Gentlemen, excuse me, I’m 
not in politics any longer, and I ain’t giving situ- 
ations to men who ain’t fit for them, just because 
they’ve done work for the party.’ I guess I made 
myself pretty considerably unpopular, but that 
don’t trouble me. If I’d set up a yacht while I 
was an active politician. I’d have been obliged to 
fill her up with political workers, from the cabin 
boy up to the captain, and naturally they’d have 
drowned all hands the first time we went to 
sea. Politics are all right on land, but politics 
won’t work at sea. 

“ That engineer of mine.” continued Galle- 
gher, is a Scotchman. Now, I never could do 
anything with Scotchmen. There was a consid- 


68 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


erable number of Scotchmen in my ward in 
Sallust City, but you never could count on their 
votes unless you paid cash in advance, which is 
an unbusinesslike practice. With the Irishmen 
it was different. They were always ready to wait 
till after election before getting their pay. An 
Irishman’s got hope, and faith, and all those sort 
of things in him, and you can do anything with 
him by working on his expectations; but a 
Scotchman don’t believe in anything but hard 
cash, and he won’t trust any man. That’s why I 
don’t like them. As for this engineer of mine, I 
don’t say that he don’t know his duty, or that 
he’s backward in doing it, but I haven’t that con- 
fidence in his honesty that I’d like to have. Per- 
haps I’m a little over-particular about honesty, 
but I was made that way. When I was a boy 
I sold another boy a ball club that was cracked, 
though he didn’t know it. I got fifteen cents 
for it, and more trouble than I ever got in any 
other transaction. For the next twenty years 
I used to think of that ball club pretty near 
every night, and feel like a bank cashier that 
has skipped with the bank’s funds. At last I 
says to myself, ‘ This thing’s got to come to 
an end. I hunted up that boy, who by that 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


69 

time was a flourishing Presbyterian minister, 
and I told him how I had cheated him out of 
fifteen cents, and that I wanted to make resti- 
tution. I paid him the money with compound 
interest then and there, and he told me that he 
hoped Pd be a different man in future, and re- 
member that when I made money in dishonest 
ways it would be a curse to me. He preached a 
sermon about it the next Sunday, and gave me 
dead away. That is, he made personal allusions 
to me. The opposition papers got hold of it, and 
used to call me the ‘ fifteen-cent thief ’ for the 
next two years. But my conscience was easy, 
and I was glad that I had done what I did.” 

'' You give me,” said Drewitt, a new con- 
ception of the professional politician. I always 
fancied that American politics and honesty were 
rather wide apart.” 

'' That’s only British prejudice, sir, if you will 
allow me to say so. I’ve been an active politician 
all my life, and I can say that I never did a dis- 
honest act. ‘ Honest John Gallegher ’ was what 
they used to call me. Whenever I bought a ma- 
jority in the Common Council, or hired a man to 
do a political job, I never gave him a line in writ- 
ing or made a bargain in the presence of wit- 


70 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


nesses, but there isn’t a man living v^ho can say 
that I ever refused to pay what I had promised to 
pay.” 

‘‘ Then bribery isn’t considered objection- 
able in America? ” said Drewitt. “ In England, 
we’ve an old-fashioned idea that buying votes 
isn’t exactly an honest thing to do.” 

“ My rule, sir,” replied Gallegher, “ used to 
be never to buy a vote unless it was necessary. 
If it’s necessary to do a thing it must be right to 
do it. Now, I consider that the only way to 
carry on a government like ours is by the judi- 
cious use of money. When I was boss of Sallust 
City the Republicans, who were the opposition 
party, were the worst gang of thieves I ever 
knew, worse, if you’ll believe it, than the New 
York Tammany ring. If they’d got into office 
they’d have robbed the city right and left. I 
kept them out by buying the necessary votes, and 
I paid the Common Council to pass measures that 
were for the benefit of the city. When men of 
property saw that I kept the city from being 
robbed, and consequently kept down the taxes, 
they supported me through thick and thin. If 
I’d had your notions about the dishonesty of buy- 
ing votes, real estate in Sallust City wouldn’t be 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


71 


worth a quarter to-day as much as it is. I believe 
in .honest politics, and it’s just as honest, and 
a sight more practical, to give a Councilman fifty 
dollars for a vote, than it is to promise him an 
office in the Custohi House. I’ll go further, and 
say that it’s a good deal honester, for the chances 
are that when he gets that office he’ll steal from 
the Government, whereas, when he gets his fifty 
dollars there’s an end of the transaction, and 
there’s no opportunity for him to steal. Hullo, 
here’s the doctor! Doctor Roberts, let me make 
you acquainted with Mr. Drewitt. You’re both 
men of culture, and you ought to get on together 
mighty well.” 

The millionaire gave his seat to the doctor, 
and went below, for he was beginning to sufYer 
from the gentle rolling of the yacht. The doctor, 
who was a slight, nervous man, not more than 
forty years of age, with a firm mouth and a 
keen eye, shook hands in the hearty American 
fashion with Drewitt, and sat down silently by 
his side. 

“ You’ve had rather a close call, from what 
Mr. Gallegher tells me,” said the doctor pres- 
ently. 

'' I suppose I have,” replied Drewitt. “Did 


72 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


you happen to see me while I was in the hos- 
pital? ” 

'' No, I didn’t visit the hospital. It would 
only have been an aggravation to me to see a lot 
of patients that I couldn’t help; and from what I 
heard of the management of that hospital I de- 
cided that the less I saw of it the better I would 
sleep. Our friend Gallegher likes to go to hos- 
pitals, because he is the kindest soul that ever 
lived. He likes to cheer up sick men, and give 
them indigestible food, and talk to them when 
they’re too weak to listen, but can’t help them- 
selves. I’m not kind-hearted, and don’t pretend 
to be, so I don’t kill sick people in that sort of 
way.” 

Have you known Mr. Gallegher long? ” 
asked Drewitt. 

“ Only about forty years. We were born and 
raised next door to one another, and he used to 
fight my battles for me when I was too sickly to 
take my own part. I’m the only doctor he’s ever 
consulted, and I suppose I’m his oldest friend. 
I never gave him medicine but once, which 
ought to be a proof of friendship. He asked me 
to come with him on this cruise, and for reasons 
that wouldn’t interest you, I was glad to come. 


DREWITT’S DREAM* 


73 


Don’t you make any mistake about Gallegher. 
He’s a queer compound, but you can trust him 
all the way from here to Sallust City.” 

“ You must be having a delightful cruise. 
This is the very season for visiting the Mediter- 
ranean, and you couldn’t wish for a more com- 
fortable yacht.” 

“ Oh, the cruise is well enough,” replied the 
doctor, “ and so is the boat. We’re not a partic- 
ularly lively party, but we manage to get along. 
Things are more cheerful since the chaplain left 
us at Naples. He^was the sort of man who would 
cast a gloom over the whole Atlantic, let alone 
a small sea like this Mediterranean.” 

Mr. Gallegher told me one day that you 
had advised him to learn the names of the bones 
of the human skeleton, by way of culture. To 
me there is something pathetic in the man’s de- 
sire to acquire what he thinks is culture.” 

It’s a mistake. Culture is just what he 
doesn’t need. It would spoil him, just as learn- 
ing to read and write spoils the working classes. 
If by any miracle Gallegher could become a cul- 
tured gentleman, he’d obtain a view of his former 
life as a professional politician that would make 
him miserable for the rest of his days. At pres- 


74 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


ent he is proud of his career, and perfectly satis- 
fied with himself. Educate him and he would 
be dissatisfied with everything. I told him to 
study anatomy, merely to amuse him. It’s a sort 
of knowledge which can’t do him any harm. He 
proposed that I should teach him Latin, but I re- 
fused. It’s true that the only Latin I know is the 
Latin of medical prescriptions, but if I had 
known the language as well as Horace himself 
I would never have consented to start Mr. Galle- 
gher on the downward path of learning. There’s 
the dinner gong! I hope you have a sea-going 
appetite.” 

At dinner Drewitt met for the first time the 
doctor’s wife and daughter. 

Mrs. Roberts sat with her head ostentatiously 
erect, and her eyes wide open, while Gallegher 
said grace. It was a grace of much length and in- 
tricacy, and had been composed by one of those 
curious persons to whom the sight of dinner sug- 
gests the duty of praying for the souls of all man- 
kind, instead of the welfare of their personal 
stomachs. 

My father always said grace in just those 
words,” remarked the millionaire, as he tucked 
his napkin around his throat, and though I 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


75 


ain’t a religious man, I always follow the old 
gentleman’s example. Now Mrs. Roberts here 
don’t believe in my saying grace, but she don’t 
seem to suffer quite so much as she did when the 
chaplain said it.” 

“ That chaplain was perfectly horrid,” said 
Mrs. Roberts. “ It took away my appetite to 
hear him speak.” 

“ He was a pretty bad lot,” said Gallegher, 
“ but for all that he used to amuse me consider- 
able.” 

The reverend gentleman seems to have been 
rather unpopular,” said Drewitt. “ May I ask 
what was the matter with him? ” 

‘‘ Pretty near everything,” replied Gallegher, 
but his worst fault was beginning to preach and 
never leaving off. Pie was the sort of man who 
could set his mouth going, and walk off and 
leave it to talk on by itself. I’m considerable of a 
talker myself, but compared with the chaplain. 
I’m deaf and dumb, and blind. I didn’t know 
anything about him when I hired him. You see, 
when I set up this yacht I advertised for a chap- 
lain, and took the first man who applied. All 
the clergymen in Sallust City had preached 
against me, off and on, and I knew they wouldn’t 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


76 

feel comfortable to go yachting with me. This 
chaplain was a little weazened, one-armed man. 
He said his arm had been cut off by cannibals 
when he was a missionary in some of the Pacific 
islands, but that they didn’t like the flavour of 
him, and so let him keep the rest of himself. He 
was always saying that he wanted to go back to 
the island and preach to those cannibals. I sup- 
pose his idea was to get square with them, and I 
can’t say as I blame him very much, though a 
clergyman oughtn’t to be revengeful. 

“ Well, the first Sunday out of New York 
the chaplain started in to preach at about half 
past ten o’clock. He preached right along, and 
at noon I told the crew that they might go to 
dinner. When it got to be half past twelve all the 
rest of us went down to lunch, but the chaplain 
wasn’t through with his sermon yet, and he 
stayed on deck and preached to the man at the 
wheel for an hour more. It turned out that he 
was a Mormon, and his sermon was all about the 
duty and privilege of polygamy. That’s one rea- 
son why there was a coolness between him and 
Mrs. Roberts, which was only natural. 

“ When Sunday came round again I told the 
chaplain that we didn’t want any more sermons. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


77 


but he said he had contracted to preach and 
meant to carry out his contract. I said that I 
didn’t deny having -hired him to preach, but that 
the contract didn’t specify in what part of the 
yacht he was to hold forth. So I put a table, and 
a glass of water, in the bath-room, and told him 
that he could preach there all day long if he 
wanted to. Then he objected that he hadn’t any 
audience to preach to. ‘ All right,’ says I, ‘ you 
shall have the cat. His views on polygamy are 
the same as yours, and he’ll make a first-class au- 
dience for you.’ The fellow preached in that 
bath-room every Sunday till we got to Naples, 
and there I compromised by giving him five hun- 
dred dollars and paying his fare to New York. 
Since then we’ve got along first-rate without a 
chaplain, though I don’t exactly know what we 
should do if Miss Roberts there should take it 
into her head to marry one of these foreign no- 
blemen, and there wasn’t anybody to tie the 
knot.” 

My daughter is not likely to marry any one 
except a good American,” said Mrs. Roberts. 

I should prefer that she never married, rather 
than that she should be married by a wretch 
like that chaplain.” 


78 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Don’t you worry about me, ma,” ex- 
claimed Miss Roberts. “ Yachting’s quite good 
enough for me, and I’m in no hurry to be mar- 
ried.” 

Yachting is very lonesome,” returned the 
mother. “ Just think of it, Mr. Drewitt. Here 
I’ve been without a soul to speak to, except my 
daughter and husband, and Mr. Gallegher, who 
never thinks a woman worth speaking to. No, 
sir, you needn’t deny it. You don’t like women, 
or you’d have married long ago. Everybody 
knows that.” 

“ But, my dear ma’am,” protested Gallegher, 
“ I give you my word that I’ve nothing against 
women. I’ve been too busy with more impor- 
tant things, and that’s the only reason I’m not 
married. I’ve always considered women very 
useful in their place.” 

Then you don’t like yachting,” said Drew- 
itt to Mrs. Roberts. 

“ Like yachting! Good land! What do you 
take me for? Why, at home we have everything 
a person could want; steam heat, gas fires, and 
electric light; and the house stands still, and 
doesn’t try to turn over every ten minutes. Why 
any one should leave solid land and go sailing 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


79 

on water that never keeps still is something that 
I can’t understand.” 

Just you wait till you’re a millionaire, 
ma’am,” said Gallegher, “ and you’ll understand 
it fast enough.” 

“ We shall be at Venice in a few days,” said 
Drewitt, and then you can stop in a hotel that 
won’t capsize.” 

I’m not so sure of that,” answered Mrs. 
Roberts. They tell me Venice is a floating 
city, and it may turn out to be worse than a 
yacht. Besides, it’s Italian, and I think the 
Italians are perfectly disgusting.” 

Have you spent much time in Italy? ” 
asked Drewitt. 

No, and I never wanted to. I’ve seen 
plenty of Italians, at Sallust City, where they 
used to come and work on the railroad. They 
are the dirtiest people you ever dreamed of, and 
they spend their whole time when they are not 
at work in stabbing one another. How people 
can be willing to go to Italy and spend month 
after month there is more than I can make 
out.” 

“ Possibly all Italians are not? navvies. Don’t 
you think that there may be ladies and gentle- 


8o 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


men in Italy who know the use of water, and 
occasionally refrain from assassination? ” 

I doubt it,” replied the lady. “ I consider 
the Italians a miserable lot, and I venture to say 
that Mr. Gallegher is of the same opinion.” 

“ I don’t think much of them, and that’s a 
fact,” replied the millionaire. They’re an 
ignorant lot, and a dishonest lot. I remember 
that one time, just on the eve of a Presidential 
election, when I began to get a little scared for 
fear we might be beaten, I had three hundred 
Italians naturalized so that they could vote the 
Democratic ticket. They insisted on having ten 
dollars apiece for their votes, and on being paid 
in advance, which was insulting to me, for it im- 
plied that I thought of cheating them. Well, 
the money was paid, and then the whole gang 
went straight to the Republican headquarters, 
and offered to vote the Republican ticket for fif- 
teen dollars apiece. What’s more, they got the 
money, and then, considering that they were rich 
men, they all went back to Italy the next day 
without waiting to vote. That I consider one of 
the most outrageous pieces of villainy that I ever 
met in the whole course of my career.” 

“ There, sir,” said Mrs. Roberts, triumphant- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


8l 


ly. You see what the Italians are. You can 
learn all about thepi in America without the 
trouble of coming to Italy. Our country is big 
enough to hold every sort of people, and every- 
thing that is worth knowing. There isn’t the 
least necessity for an American to come to 
Europe.” 

‘‘ My idea is,” said the millionaire, “ that Ven- 
ice is a good deal like Cairo on the Mississippi. 
Every once in a while the river rises, and all Cairo 
is under water. I don’t suppose that Venice can 
be much damper than what Cairo is. Mr. Drew- 
itt says that Venice is a good place for laying in 
culture, but I should say that chills and fever 
must be its staple production. Anyway, that’s 
what they principally produce at Cairo, and I 
never heard that there was any culture mixed 
with it.” 

“ I suppose all the people in Venice are 
Roman Catholics,” said Mrs. Roberts after a 
pause. I must say I don’t like the idea of stay- 
ing among them. I don’t want to be burned 
alive, if I am a heretic.” 

“ Don’t you be alarmed, ma’am,” said Galle- 
gher. “ According to all accounts there’s water 
enough in Venice to put you out, if they do set 


82 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


fire to you. Mrs. Roberts,” continued Gallegher, 
is a Baptist, and she don’t think that any other 
religion is fit to live. Now, all religions are the 
same to me. I used to contribute regularly to 
every religion in Sallust City, and we had a full 
line of them. I should say we had a multifarious 
assortment of them. I half built the Jewish syn- 
agogue, and I built the whole of the Baptist 
church, besides giving a chime of bells to the 
Roman Catholics. Just before every election, all 
the churches seemed to be in financial difficulties, 
and they used to come to me to help them out. 
I used to treat them all alike, for if I’d shown 
any favour to one it would have cost me the votes 
of all the rest. The Republican boss generally 
joined a fresh church at least once every two 
years, which was short-sighted policy. It got 
him the votes of the last church he joined, but 
set all the others dead against him. On the 
other hand, they all had hopes of gathering me 
in, and consequently they were middling friend- 
ly, though the clergymen always felt it their duty 
to preach against me now and then, they being 
as a rule Republicans. Mrs. Roberts thinks 
Tm a first-class heathen, and won’t listen to 
me when I say grace, but according to my 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


83 

notion, Fm friendly to any sort of religion, pro- 
vided it ain’t the Mormon brand. I suppose that 
when I get culture enough to amount to any- 
thing, ril have to be down on all religions, and 
be what they call an agnosticator. It ain’t a 
pleasing prospect, for I like my present system 
of helping along all religions, but I’m not afraid 
to take all the responsibilities that comes with 
wealth and culture.” 

“ You’re no better than a latitudinarian, Mr, 
Gallegher,” cried Mrs. Roberts. 

“ I’m afraid I don’t know just what a latitudi- 
narian is,” replied Gallegher, “ but anyhow, I’m a 
smoker, which is more to the point just now. If 
you come on deck with me, gentlemen, I’ll give 
you some cigars that will make your hair curl. 
I mean, that will meet the deep wants of your 
nature. I opened them this morning, and they 
lay over anything that we’ve smoked yet.” 

That’s all you men care for,” said Mrs. 
Roberts, disdainfully. “ Smoking and drinking, 
and playing billiards like the beasts that perish. 
I sometimes wonder if men really have any souls. 
If they have they are about as much use to them 
as the pearls were to the swine that they were 
cast before.” 


84 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


The weather was superb during the run up 
the Adriatic, and even Mr. Gallegher ceased to 
lament the cruel fate that had made him an in- 
voluntary yachtsman. Drewitt gained strength 
with unexpected rapidity, and to him the voyage 
was an unalloyed delight. He found himself 
more and more friendly with the millionaire. He 
had from the first felt thoroughly grateful to him 
for his kind attentions, but he was now learning 
to appreciate the man’s warm-hearted sincerity, 
and to take pleasure in his simple even if some- 
what vulgar frankness. In the intimacy of long 
evenings in the smoking-room, and in the days 
passed on deck, something like a genuine friend- 
ship sprang up between the two. Of the other 
passengers Drewitt saw but little. The doctor 
was engaged in writing a medical work, and 
spent most of his time in his cabin. Mrs. Rob- 
erts had formed a sudden and ardent friend- 
ship for Kate Simmons, and the two were sel- 
dom seen apart. As for the pretty American 
girl, she was occupied in flirting with the cap- 
tain of the yacht, and gave little attention to 
the young Englishman. Gallegher, while he 
was kind and considerate to all his guests, 
so evidently preferred the society of Drewitt, 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


85 

that the two seldom found themselves inter- 
rupted. 

“ I’ve been studying that nurse, Miss Sim- 
mons, considerable of late,” said Gallegher one 
afternoon, “ and I can’t say as I altogether un- 
derstand her.” 

‘‘ She’s a thoroughly good girl,” said 
Drewitt. 

Anybody can see that. What I can’t make 
out is her religion. She’s as healthy a girl as you 
could find anywhere, and she don’t seem to have 
any trouble on her mind. Then why does she go 
in for salvationism? I’ve seen a good deal of 
Salvationists, and my idea about them is that 
they intoxicate themselves with hymns and such, 
so as to forget their miseries. It seems to me 
that Miss Simmons, being young and healthy, 
and good-looking, ought to take up with some 
quiet, easy religion, that wouldn’t interfere with 
her comfort. She can’t have any real need for 
working herself up with hymns and general bowl- 
ings. It’s just a mystery: that’s what it is.” 

You must remember,” said Drewitt, “ that 
you don’t care for religion yourself, and perhaps 
you don’t altogether understand what relig- 
ion is.” 


86 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


There’s where you’re wrong, sir. I don’t 
pretend to say that I’m religious. A man can’t 
combine religion and American politics, and 
when you see a fellow trying to do it you can set 
him down as a hypocrite or a reformer, which is 
the most useless sort of fool that we’ve got. But 
I consider religion an excellent thing, and I’ve 
pretty well made up my mind that when I get 
home and don’t have any further call to get mad, 
and cuss things generally, I shall look around till 
I find a comfortable and respectable brand of re- 
ligion, and take it in — that is to say, embrace it. 
If you knew politics as well as I do you would un- 
derstand that religion is an almost indispensable 
thing in a community of free and independent 
voters. Religious men who join a political party 
stick to it through thick and thin, because they 
think that it’s a sort of religious duty to vote the 
straight ticket. But the man who hasn’t got 
any religion is liable to vote in all sorts of ways. 
You can’t count on him from one election to an- 
other. There were the Presbyterians in Sallust 
City. They always voted the Republican ticket. 
It didn’t make any sort of difference who the 
candidates were, or what measures the party sup- 
ported. The Presbyterian vote always went 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


87 


solid for the Republican ticket. Then there were 
the Irish Roman Catholics. They were Demo- 
cratic to a man, while the German voters, who 
hadn’t any religion at all except beer, would vote 
first one way, and then another. Preachers often 
say that our system of government can be suc- 
cessful only so long as the people are religious. 
They’re right, only they don’t really know why 
they are right. 

But to come back to Miss Simmons,” re- 
sumed Gallegher, after a pause. “ She seems to 
be very thick with Mrs. Roberts, and I can’t see 
why. Mrs. Roberts is a lady for whom I have a 
great deal of respect, but I’ve heard her talk 
about Salvationists in America, and she just 
despises them. Her idea is that everybody who 
doesn’t think just as she does ought to be burned 
at the stake. She don’t say so in so many words, 
but she swears that every one who don’t hold her 
doctrines is going to burn for ever in the next 
world, and that it serves them right. Now, I say 
a person who would be glad to have another 
burnt for a million or so of years on the other 
side, would be glad to begin by kindling the fire 
here. According to her principles, she must 
want to have Miss Simmons burned, but so far 


88 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


as I can see, she is very fond of her. Well, per- 
haps it’s a waste of time to try to understand 
women. I’ve never tried it yet, and I guess I 
won’t begin now. 

‘‘ Speaking of Venice,” pursued the garru- 
lous millionaire, “ I read this morning in the 
guide-book that Venice was a republic. I 
thought all these European countries were 
groaning under kings and emperors.” 

Venice was a republic about a hundred 
years ago,” replied Drewitt, “ but it is a part of 
the kingdom of Italy at the present day.” 

“ Sorry to hear that. I was looking forward 
to breathing the free air of a republic for a few 
days. I wonder when you English people will 
get your freedom. You are middling intelligent 
people, and you ought to have a republic.” 

“Heaven forbid!” exclaimed Drewitt. “I 
don’t say that our politics are free from corrup- 
tion as it is, but I can assure you that we know 
nothing of the systematic corruption that goes 
on under a republic.” 

“ You’re referring, sir, I presume, to the 
practice of buying votes, and legislators. There 
are a great many people in America who think 
just as you do, that it’s a terrible thing to use 


V 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


89 

money in politics, but that's because they don't 
look at things rationally. As I’ve said before, 
it’s the only way to carry on a free government, 
and it’s a good way, too.” 

“ I should like to hear your defence of it.” 

“ It’s an easy one, provided you put your 
prejudices on one side. What’s the object of a 
government? It’s to benefit the people, isn’t it? 
Now the best way to benefit a man that I know 
of is to put money into his pocket. Suppose I 
wanted to get a measure adopted in Sallust City 
that would be for the benefit of the whole com- 
munity, I might either persuade the voters to 
elect a Common Council that would pass the 
measure, or I might take the Common Council 
just as it stands, and induce it to pass it. If I 
wanted to try the first plan, I should have to 
promote the interests of the voters to the extent 
of a few dollars apiece to get them to elect the 
proper candidates; and if I tried the second plan 
I have to persuade the Councilmen with a hun- 
dred dollars each. Either way the result would 
be that the public would get good legislation, 
and something in their pockets besides. You 
can’t expect that they’d be foolish enough to vote 
the way I wanted them to vote, unless they could 


90 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


see their way to make a profit out of the transac- 
tion.’^ 

“ I suppose,” said Drewitt, that your pic- 
ture of the good politician buying votes for a 
noble object is a common one in the States.” 

“ Yes, sir; it is. It’s a big mistake to suppose 
that a political boss only works for his own in- 
terest. Naturally, he has to make a living, just 
as other men have to make theirs; but if he’s fit 
for his place he works for the benefit of the com- 
munity. What I can’t understand is why you 
and folks like you should think that it’s such a 
terrible thing to induce men to vote as you want 
them to vote; that is to say, to buy their votes. 
Don’t you buy voters in England when you tell 
them before election that if they’ll vote for your 
party you’ll reduce the taxes, or pass some law 
that will put money in their pockets? In our 
country we don’t beat the devil round the stump 
in that way. If you mean to carry on a free 
government there must be plenty of money go- 
ing out to the voters. Without money there 
wouldn’t be any such thing as a boss, and with- 
out a boss you can’t run a town worth a cent. 
What would become of this yacht if it wasn’t 
ruled by the captain, who is nothing more nor 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


91 


less than a boss? Why, there would be nothing 
but talking going on, till the yacht ran on the 
rocks. That’s what would happen to America 
if there were no bosses to manage things. Peo- 
ple can’t govern themselves by getting together 
and talking and voting. There’s too many of 
them, and they’re bound to get in each other’s 
way. They’ve got to have a boss to tell them 
how to vote, and to keep things straight. That’s 
the only sort of popular government that will 
work. We’ve found it out, and I’ll bet that 
Venice found it out, if she was a republic long 
enough to learn anything.” 

“ I understand your point of view,” said 
Drewitt, but I don’t admit your conclusions. 
The civilized world has decided that buying 
votes is wrong, and I can’t understand how a 
man of your intelligence and integrity can have 
any other opinion.” 

“ I know I’m right in what I say,” replied 
Gallegher, “ because I’m talking about some- 
thing that I know all the way through. I haven’t 
been in politics all my life without learning my 
trade. At the same time, I’m willing to admit 
that if I was a man of culture, perhaps I should 
look at things differently; for I’ve noticed that 
7 


92 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


the more culture a man has, the more he mis- 
takes his fancies for facts. Just you help me to 
a little culture, and we’ll see what it will do for 
me. The trouble with me is that I haven’t any 
guide. I know my deficiencies better than any 
other man can know them. I can’t talk good 
grammar, and I can’t understand the things that 
educated people talk about. The doctor calcu- 
lated to help me some when he told me to study 
bones, but I can’t see as anything has come of it. 
You sort of promised to tell me what books I 
ought to read, but after all I don’t seem to put 
much confidence in books. Well, I suppose I 
can’t have everything. I’ve got money, and I’ve 
had power and political reputation, and I sup- 
pose that’s got to satisfy me.” 

“ My dear sir,” said Drewitt, ‘‘ it is better 
to be honest and kind than it is to be cultured. 
My advice to you is to be yourself. Never mind 
about slips in grammar, or your inability to un- 
derstand everything that is said in your presence. 
As you know, I don’t share your political code 
of morals, but I thoroughly respect Mr. John 
Gallegher, the man, and I don’t care to see him 
changed.” 

The millionaire took the young man’s hand 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


93 


warmly. ‘‘ You’re a downright good fellow,” he 
said, “ and I more than half believe you are right 
about that culture racket. Good night! Per- 
haps you’re doing me more service than you 
would do if you gave me a list of books as long 
as your arm.” 

The night before the yacht entered the la- 
goon the sky was obscured and a thin haze made 
the land loom indistinctly. The vessel was 
steaming at half-speed so as to avoid reaching 
Malamocco before daylight. Drewitt had gone 
forward, and was leaning over the bows, watch- 
ing the phosphorescent glow and sparkle of the 
water, as the yacht cut her silent way through it. 
A hand was laid lightly on his shoulder, and 
turning his head he saw that the nurse was stand- 
ing by his side. 

A penny for your thoughts!” she said, 

gaily. 

I was thinking at that moment of my dream 
— the one that I told you in the hospital.” 

“ I never saw a man take so much trouble 
about his dreams as you do,” she said, pettishly. 
‘'You are thinking of that woman who never 
lived that you saw in the fever; and it’s my 
opinion that you’ll never think seriously of a real 


94 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


woman again. You’re as much in love with her 
as if she had been real, and weighed ten or twelve 
stone.” 

“ Being in love is a sort of dream at the best,” 
replied Drewitt. “To love a woman whom one 
has met only in a dream must be a good deal 
safer than it is to love a woman of the ordinary 
kind.” 

“ I hate to see you waste your time in that 
way,” answered the nurse. “ You’d much better 
attend to your soul and get saved than to moon 
about something that came into your head only 
because it was cracked.” 

Nursey! You’re a good girl, but you’re 
not romantic. Now I have all the romance of 
falling in love, without any of the disadvantages 
of it. I think I shall stick to my dream woman. 
She pleases me better than any flesh and blood 
woman that I have yet seen.” 

“ Just you wait till you’ve seen Miss Wynne. 
When you know what she really is you’ll never 
think of another woman, I don’t care who she 
may be. You won’t fall in love with her, for 
you’d as soon fall in love with a regular angel 
with wings and a harp; but you’ll just worship 
her, or you are not the man I think you are.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


95 

“ What sort of a man do you think me to 
be?’’ 

“ I don’t think you’re bad in any way, but 
you don’t care for anything but your own com- 
fort, and you live like the beasts of the field, 
without ever thinking why you were put in 
this world, and what will become of you in the 
next.” 

You don’t make much of a hero of me,” he 
said, laughing. 

Oh, I suppose you’re brave enough. You 
wouldn’t run away if you were a soldier, and you 
wouldn’t stand by and see a woman abused. 
You’re a gentleman, and you wouldn’t do a dis- 
honourable act, but you’re very selfish. I don’t 
mean that you’re selfish in keeping everything 
yourself, but you don’t think there is anybody in 
the world except your own self.” 

I know you’re here, and the world is a good 
deal better for that.” 

Don’t talk rubbish. I’m not standing be- 
hind a bar now. Of course you like me, but you 
wouldn’t mind if you never saw me again from 
the day we land in Venice.” 

“ I hope never to lose sight of you, and some 
day, when you’re married and have a house of 


DREWITTS DREAM 


96 

your own, Fm coming to drink tea with you, and 
make your husband jealous.” 

Husband, indeed. Fve got something bet- 
ter to think of than husbands. Besides, no man 
worth having would marry me. Fd have to tell 
him that Fd been a drunken barmaid, and then 
he’d think that Fd been a great deal worse. 
That’s the way folks always think of a girl who 
confesses anything, and that’s what she gets by 
confessing. You may not think bad of me, but 
that’s because you know me pretty well, but if Fd 
never met you till to-night, and I was to say: 
‘ See here, I used to be a barmaid at the King’s 
Arms, I used to get drunk every now and then, 
and I used to use language and joke with the 
Johnnies over the bar in a way that would turn 
a decent woman’s hair gray. Now will you 
marry me?’ You’d say, ‘No, thank you, my 
dear! Fm afraid that I should find out worse 
things about you than what you’ve told me.’ 
That’s the way any man would talk, and I can’t 
say that I would blame him very much.” 

“ I never could think harm of you. I don’t 
believe there is a more honest, straightgoing 
woman in the world than you.” 

“ Thank you, sir. But would you marry 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


97 


me after what I’ve told you? Of course you 
wouldn’t, and you’d be quite right, too. Mar- 
riage isn’t for me. It’s natural that a woman 
should marry and have a home of her own, and 
children of her own. There have been times 
when I should have liked it myself, but now I 
never think of it. I have lived my own way 
for twenty-five years and much good it did me. 
Now I’m going to live Christ’s way. I’ve noth- 
ing more to do with myself. It’s his affairs that 
I’m to attend to now, and I should be no better 
than a mean skulking deserter if I went back 
and tried to please myself by falling in love and 
marrying some man.” 

The light from the red lanthorn fell on the 
girl’s upturned face, and again Drewitt saw on it 
the glow and ecstasy of the religious enthusiast. 

I’m sorry that you’ve made up your mind 
to live single,” he said. '' A single woman is an 
incomplete woman. You could marry well if 
you chose. I’m not so sure that you might not 
marry Mr. Gallegher if you cared to. He ” 

‘‘ Stop! ” she cried. “ That man has a heart 
of gold and I won’t hear him insulted.” 

‘‘ But, my dear girl, I never dreamed of in- 
sulting him.” 


98 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Isn’t it insulting him to speak as if he could 
marry me? Do you forget what I have been? 
But there, I mustn’t yield to the temptation to 
anger. You didn’t mean any harm, so I forgive 
you. When you see Miss Wynne you’ll under- 
stand that there are better things for a woman 
than marriage.” 


CHAPTER IV 


‘‘ This, ma’am, is Mr. Drewitt.” 

Kate Simmons, the nurse, had ushered Drew- 
itt into a drawing-room in one of the great 
hotels on the Grand Canal. The light came soft- 
ly into the room through the pink curtains that 
draped the row of pointed windows. Although 
the room was small and had been furnished by 
the hotelkeeper, it was, nevertheless, thoroughly 
tasteful, both as to furniture and decorations. 
Miss Wynne loved to gratify her aesthetic tastes 
by surrounding herself with beautiful things. 
Envious people sometimes said that if she were 
to give to the poor what she spent in her luxu- 
rious London home, she would bear a closer re- 
semblance to the accepted type of saint; but she 
calmly replied that essentially the same remark 
had already been made by Judas Iscariot, and 
that she did not recognise his authority to dictate 
her mode of life. 


L.ofC. 


99 


lOO 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


She was writing at a table in the middle of 
the room, when Drewitt entered. As she rose 
to meet him the wonderfully ethereal character 
of her beauty startled him. She was tall and 
slight, although she did not suggest thinness. 
Her features were Greek in their regularity, but 
were saved from the monotony of statuesque 
beauty by the full ripeness of her lips, and the 
glory of her deep, luminous eyes. Her hair was 
plainly dressed, and she wore no jewellery with 
the exception of a heavy gold cross that hung 
from her neck. Drewitt was not sufficiently fa- 
miliar with women’s toilettes to comprehend pre- 
cisely how she was dressed; but the impression 
that her gown made upon him was that it 
wrapped her like a fleecy cloud. She stood for 
an instant with her lips parted, as if to speak, and 
then, as he touched her soft, warm hand, the 
melody of her voice made him forget her face. 

The nurse had left the room after announcing 
him, and he waited for Miss Wynne to speak, 
with a vague feeling that he was in church, and 
that it would be irreverent for him to speak, ex- 
cept after the manner of the responses in the 
prayer book. 

Kate has told me of you,” said Miss 


DREWITrS DREAM 


lOI 


Wynne, “ and of your narrow escape from death. 
She seems to be quite attached to you in her 
honest way. I trust she has been of use in other 
things than mere nursing.’’ 

“ She has taken the best of care of me,” re- 
plied Drewitt, “ and I literally owe her my life.” 

‘‘ She is a good woman, though she has little 
spirituality. I sometimes think that to be spirit- 
ually minded is a gift reserved only for those 
who have missed the blessing of perfect health. 
Kate’s splendid health seems to fit her for rough 
and aggressive work that would be difficult for 
one whose mind was more completely spiritual- 
ized.” 

Drewitt did not know quite how to reply, and 
he was beginning to wish that the saint was a 
trifle less saintly in her conversation. 

You have been in India,” he said presently. 

I hope you like it.” The fatuity of the remark 
angered him as soon as he had made it, and he 
wished that the interview was over. 

All places are the same to me,” she said. 

My interest is in people and not in things and 
places. When you habitually look upon the 
world as a field in which to labour you care little 
whether the field is prosaic or picturesque. I was 


102 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


pleased with my journey to India, for I saw that 
our people are doing good work there. I should 
perhaps have remained there, had it not been 
that the climate would have proved fatal to me. 
I am not very strong, and unless I take care of 
myself, I can not do the work which is allotted to 
me. 

Decidedly,” thought Drewitt, “ this wom- 
an is tiresome. What a pity that so much beauty 
should be spoiled by so much cant.” 

“ Have you seen much of Venice? ” he asked. 

I have seen very little of the sights that 
travellers see in Venice, but I have seen a great 
deal of misery and ignorance. I should love to 
stop in Venice for a year, and see what could be 
done for these poor people, but it is meant that 
I should live and work in London.” 

“ I must say,” said Drewitt, “ that I delight 
in Venice. This is my first visit here, and the 
beauty of the place enchants me. The blue and 
gold atmospheric effects are unearthly. Surely 
you must admire them.” 

If you saw a woman drowning, would you 
stop to think whether the colour and pattern of 
her gown were becoming to her? Your only 
thought would be how to save her. How can I 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


103 


care for atmospheric effects, and architecture, 
and pictures, when I see men and women perish- 
ing around me? ” 

Drewitt was again at a loss how to continue 
the conversation. If he could have been per- 
mitted to sit still and admire the beauty of Miss 
Wynne he would have found the interview with 
her tolerable, if not positively interesting; but 
her conversation was unquestionably distasteful, 
and jarred his nerves. If this was the habitual 
conversation of saints, he felt that he decidedly 
preferred that of sinners, or at least of unsancti- 
fied persons, like Kate Simmons. 

Do you remain long in Venice? ” she pres- 
ently asked. 

‘‘ Perhaps a fortnight. I am due in Milan 
about the twentieth of the month, but I shall 
hardly leave here before then. If I could, I 
should like very much to live here.” 

‘‘ Kate has told me that you are going to 
build a railway somewhere in Italy.” 

Yes, I bid for a contract for a narrow gauge 
road .near Padua, and it was given to me. I 
wanted to get away from India for a time. Like 
you, I want to live in London, but I can’t man- 
age it as yet.” 


104 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


‘‘ It matters very little where one lives. Life 
is so very short that it would be idle, as well as 
sinful, to think much of one’s comfort.” 

‘‘ And yet you are certainly very comfortable 
here? ” 

He could have bit his tongue the moment he 
had said it. The words came involuntarily to 
him. They were his protest against cant. And 
yet, as he said to himself, it can’t be possible 
that a woman with a face like that could descend 
to cant.” 

'' When God gives us wealth,” said Miss 
Wynne, “ he expects us to show our apprecia- 
tion of his kindness by enjoying his gift. The 
Roman Catholic saints thought they must throw 
away everything that God had given them. They 
were wrong. I can truthfully say that I have 
striven to make such a use of what has been 
given me as would be pleasing to God. I think 
he is pleased when he sees that I am comfortable 
in my outward circumstances, and I do not think 
that the poor suffer because I do not live in a 
bare room on the top floor.” 

I was very rude, and most sincerely beg 

your forgiveness. I did not mean ” 

You meant precisely what you said, and I 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


105 
% 

can not blame you for it. My position naturally 
seems inconsistent with what I have been saying 
to you. You should never regret having spoken 
out in behalf of what you think is right. I thank 
you for your reproof, just as much as I would 
if I deserved it.” 

Drewitt was heartily ashamed of himself. He 
thought that the sooner he said good-bye to 
Miss Wynne the better; but he did not know 
how to leave her. Awkwardness and self-con- 
sciousness had never before troubled him, but 
there was a sense of incompleteness in the inter- 
view with Miss Wynne which made him draw 
back from abruptly ending it. 

“ Kate tells me,” said Miss Wynne, “ that 
you are not saved. I fear it is true.” 

“ I presume it is,” he replied. “ I am sorry 
to say that I have never paid much attention 
to religion, though I have the utmost respect 
for it.” 

“You do not believe in religion or you 
would long ago have embraced it. When you 
say that you have a great respect for it you 
are saying that you respect what you believe 
to be a lie. If you were drowning and there 
was a life buoy within reach, you would not 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


io6 

say that you had a great respect for life buoys, 
and still decline to seize it. Unbelief is the cause 
of all irreligion. If you really believed you would 
not rest until you felt yourself saved. My poor 
friend! Why will you perish? Why will you not 
believe and be saved? 

There was no mistaking the sincerity of the 
woman. She was not posing, but was perfectly 
sincere in her fanaticism — as Drewitt thought it. 
Her words still failed to wake any echo in his 
heart, but her tone and look thrilled him. 

I believe,” he said, after a moment, and at 
the same time I disbelieve. Half of my brain be- 
lieves in the religion of the Church of England, 
that my mother taught me. The other half 
doubts the existence of my soul. How can I 
have faith like you? The thing's impossible.” 

There is nothing the matter with your 
brain. It is God who tells you to believe and 
Satan who tells you to disbelieve. You mistake 
these two voices for the suggestions of your own 
mind. What you have to do is to resist Satan 
and he will flee from you. You are young, and 
brave, and intelligent; and Kate tells me that 
you are kind and gentle. And yet unless you 
come to Jesus you must be eternally lost. You 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


107 


are satisfied with yourself, and secretly think 
that God can not help but like a man with so 
many attractive qualities. If you could see how 
black your purest thoughts are in the sight of 
God, you would cry for mercy.” 

I fear,” said Drewitt, that you will never 
make a saint of me. But if you please I will 
come back to you, and you shall try what you 
can do. Perhaps, after all, I am not quite so bad 
as you think me.” 

“ I do not think you bad. I was merely 
thinking for the moment how the best of us 
must appear in the sight of God. Even our best 
actions, if done without conscious reference to 
his will, are sinful, and deserve his anger.” 

‘‘ I don’t agree with you,” said Drewitt, with 
a sudden boldness. I can’t believe that the 
Creator spends his whole time in getting angry 
at every little thing we do. If I do wrong in the 
slightest degree you tell me that he is angry. If 
I do right without thinking of him, you tell me 
that he is angry again. A Hindu god might 
act in this way, but I don’t believe that the true 
God is capable of it.” 

“ We will talk no more of this to-day,” said 

Miss Wynne softly. ‘‘ I will pray for you, and 
8 


io8 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


when you come again you will perhaps be in a 
different frame of mind. I want you to come 
again, and soon. If you choose, we will talk of 
other things than religion the next time we meet. 
I do not want to make you hate it, through the 
faulty way in which I present it to you.’’ 

“ I never could hate anything that you said or 
did,” he replied, for the glamour of her beauty 
was on him again. He went away wondering if 
he liked or disliked her She had no right to 
tell him that he was self-satisfied, and that he 
thought himself pleasing in the sight of both 
God and men. But was it quite certain that she 
was wrong? 

What a curious thing beauty is,” he 
thought, as he walked toward the piazza. Here 
is a woman who is everything that is distasteful 
to me, and yet just because she is beautiful I am 
half ready to admit that she is right in every- 
thing; and I want to see her again, though I 
know she will say a lot of unpleasant things to 
me. Let her say them! I don’t care what she 
may say, for she’s a good woman, and a true 
saint.” 

Drewitt had lived an honest, industrious, 
blameless life. He had never before thought of 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


109 


himself as a selfish and self-absorbed man. The 
thought that after all he was little better than a 
prig troubled him. He sat down in front of Flo- 
rian’s, and began to examine himself. The proc- 
ess was a new and difficult one. His thoughts 
would not rest on his own peculiarities, but con- 
stantly went back to the gracious figure of the 
Saint, and her soft and compelling voice. 

Presently Mr. Gallegher, accompanied by a 
guide who professed to speak English, and 
whose inaccuracies of speech exasperated his em- 
ployer, met him, and seated himself by his side. 
In the absence of Kentucky whisky, the Ameri- 
can was forced to drink vermouth, a beverage 
which he declared to be fit only for sour-tempered 
women. 

“ You never can make me believe,’^ said Gal- 
legher, that Venice was a genuine, successful 
republic. There isn’t any whisky in the whole 
town except what is brought here in travellers’ 
flasks. Now you can’t run a republic without 
whisky. You can’t get up political enthusiasm 
on water, or sour wine, or this vermin — or what- 
ever it is that you call it. Where there isn’t en- 
thusiasm there ain’t any votes worth men- 
tioning, and if people don’t vote how can you 


no 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


have a republic? Then there’s the whisky trade. 
That’s one of the most important things in a 
republic. It constitutes a solid vote that is al- 
ways on the side of sound conservatism. If a 
party goes in for crazy reform measures it can’t 
get the support of the whisky trade, and without 
it no party can succeed. The reason why the 
Democratic party has lived and flourished ever 
since the United States became independent is 
that it has always had the steady support of the 
whisky trade; and it had that support because it 
never went in for reforming this or that or the 
other thing. You’ll find, sir, if you look into the 
matter, that whisky is the balance wheel of a 
republic. Look at the South American repub- 
lics. They can’t succeed just because they 
haven’t any whisky. The natives drink wine, the 
same as they do here, and the wine trade hasn’t 
the steadying influence of whisky.” 

Are you beginning to grow tired of Ven- 
ice? ” asked Drewitt. 

‘‘ Not a bit. There’s lots of interesting things 
here. There’s the Dog’s palace, though why it 
has that name I can’t find out. Our friend here, 
who is showing me around, says that the dog 
used to live there, but he don’t say what breed 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


III 


of dog it was, and, anyway, I can’t understand 
why people built a first-class palace for a dog. 
There’s a room in that building, sir, that was 
meant by Nature for holding a political conven- 
tion. It’s a thundering big room, with a row of 
windows on one side that would come in mighty 
convenient for chucking out disorderly persons. 
Then there are the prisons. They are worth 
coming all the way here to see. To look at them 
and then think of our American prisons makes a 
man feel proud. Why, you ought to see our 
State prison. The cells are clean and airy and 
comfortable. The prisoners have books, and 
good food, and magic-lanthorn exhibitions, and 
such. And if a man has done anything remark- 
able, such as killing a wife, or blowing up a police- 
man with a bomb, the ladies will bring him flow- 
ers every day. As for these prisons under the 
Dog’s palace there was no sort of comfort in 
them. If Td have lived in Venice in the days 
when they used those cells. I’d have done almost 
anything to keep out of them; whereas, if it 
wasn’t for the look of the thing. I’d as leave spend 
a month in one of our prisons as in almost any 
hotel. And if you speak of yachting, why, yacht- 
ing ain’t in it with an American jail. I mean to 


II2 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


say, that yachting is wholly unworthy to be com- 
pared with life in a first-class American jail/’ 

‘‘ You’ll admit that you haven’t anything in 
the States to compare with the cathedral,” said 
Drewitt. 

No, sir. I can’t say we have, and I don’t 
know that we want any such thing. We calcu- 
late that our churches are built for preaching, 
and we fit them up so that folks can listen to a 
sermon comfortably, and go to sleep if they don’t 
happen to like it. Now, that cathedral is hand- 
some enough outside, but inside it’s worse than 
an American barn. It wants carpeting; it wants 
steam heating; it wants electric lighting; and it 
wants comfortable pews. You’d never get an 
American audience to attend divine services in 
any such place. Then, again, there’s the pic- 
tures on the walls. They make the place look 
more like a picture gallery, or a big convention 
hall papered with circus posters. If I had my 
way, the first thing I’d do would be to cover the 
whole of the inside of that cathedral with a nice 
coat of whitewash. I’m not a religious man my- 
self, but I like to see a church properly fitted up, 
and made to look bright and light as a church 
should.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


II3 

And what do you think of the bell tower? 

To tell the truth, I think it’s pretty consid- 
erably ugly, though the guide-book has the 
cheek to say that it’s beautiful. It’s just built of 
ordinary brick, without a particle of paint, and 
what’s worse, the thing’s absolutely useless. 
Why the Venetians went to the expense of build- 
ing a big bell tower when they could have put 
their bells on the roof of the church, where they 
belong, I can’t see. If I were boss of Venice I’d 
pull down that tower, and use the bricks to -build 
tenement houses for the poor. There’s a terrible 
lot of poor people in this town, and they need 
somebody to take hold and run it. 

'' Then again,” he continued, if Venice 
were handed over to me I’d roof in this square 
with a glass roof resting on light iron arches. The 
effect would be beautiful, and the place would 
look pretty much like the Grand Central Depot at 
Chicago. It would make a shelter for all the 
poor people of the city, and a first-class place for 
holding political meetings. Then I’d set all the 
unemployed people at work, filling up the canals. 
They’re of no sort of use. It takes a man an 
hour to go a distance in a boat on one of these 
canals that he could do in ten minutes if the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


1 14 

canals were filled up and electric railroads laid 
down, rd have annual elections for city officers, 
and the amount of money that would be put in 
circulation at such a time would make the entire 
town prosperous. In two years’ time I’d under- 
take to make Venice as prosperous as any town in 
Europe; though after all that ain’t saying very 
much. I’ve yet to see a town that isn’t half 
full of beggars, and where you have beggars it 
means either that you haven’t any boss, or that 
the one you have doesn’t know his trade. I 
ought to say,” added the millionaire, after a brief 
pause, that now I come to think of it, I don’t 
know as anything could be done with this people 
without first learning them to speak English in- 
stead of their ridiculous language. Now this 
drink that I’m poisoning myself with is nothing 
more nor less than bitters. Then why don’t they 
call it bitters? If they had any kind of enterprise 
they’d call it the ‘ National Stomach Bitters,’ and 
have a certificate on every bottle from the Pope, 
saying that he had cured himself of broken legs, 
and typhoid fever, and liver, and consumption, 
and loss of hair, by drinking six bottles of the Na- 
tional Stomach Bitters. It would sell by the 
million bottles, and the maker of it would be able 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


II5 

to buy up the entire kingdom. But no! These 
Italians just go on calling it some outlandish 
name, without saying that it will cure anything. 
There’s no business enterprise here, and you 
can’t expect to find any except where the people 
have been educated by practical politics.” 

Drewitt was growing tired of the American’s 
loquacity, for at that moment he was thinking of 
Miss Wynne. 

“ May I ask you a question? ” said he, sud- 
denly interrupting the flow of the millionaire’s 
conversation. 

“ Go ahead. Ask anything you like.” 

‘‘Tell me, do you ever feel satisfied with 
yourself? I don’t ask from idle curiosity.” 

“ Well, I suppose that as a general thing I do. 
You see. I’m a self-made man, and I’ve made a 
big success of it. Then, on the other hand, 
I’ve never done anything that I’m ashamed of. 
There’s times when I wish I had a little culture, 
as I’ve told you, but I don’t know as it would fit 
me after all. Yes, sir, I can say that I’m fairly 
satisfied with myself, taking it by and large.” 

“ One thing more. Do you believe in an- 
other world? ” 

“ I can’t say as I do, and I can’t say I don’t. 


Il6 DREWITT'S DREAM 

Sometimes I think there must be a hell for the 
accommodation of the Republican politicians, 
who are a terrible corrupt lot; and then it does 
seem as if there ought to be a heaven for horses, 
considering the hard lines they have here. But I 
don’t trouble myself much about such matters. 
I calculate that we’ll find out all about it some 
day, and there’s no good of fretting over what we 
don’t know.” 

Then you don’t consider that a man who is 
satisfied with himself is necessarily a heathen? ” 
‘‘ Look here. What are you driving at? Has 
anybody been charging you with being too much 
satisfied with yourself? If they have, just tell 
them from me to mind their own business. I 
should say, judging from what I’ve seen of you, 
that you’ve pretty good reason to be satisfied 
with yourself, clear down to the ground. Any- 
how, that’s the way I feel about it, though I 
haven’t known you very long.” 

Thanks, very much. The truth is, I was 
beginning to think that I might be a prig with- 
out knowing it. However, you’re less like a prig 
than any man I know, and you say that you’re 
satisfied with yourself.” 

I’m not quite satisfied with one thing, and 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


II7 

that is about living at a hotel instead of aboard 
the yacht. I was told in New York that I must 
live aboard the yacht during the whole of the 
cruise; and I’ve done so until we got to Venice. 
I suppose it was sort of weak in me to go to a 
hotel, but I’ve always found that gratifying one’s 
weaknesses is a mighty pleasant and comfortable 
thing. 

By-the-bye, I’ve met a man at the hotel 
who is going along with me as a natural. He’s 
no end of a good fellow, and knows even more 
than the doctor; at least about some things.” 

“ I’m afraid I don’t know what a natural is,” 
said Drewitt. 

“ He’s a chap that collects butterflies, and 
birds, and specimens of stone; a scientific chap. 
There was a millionaire who went in his yacht 
from New York clean round the world, and he 
carried a natural with him. This man I’m speak- 
ing about is a mighty interesting sort of fellow. 
He’s been everywhere, and done most every- 
thing, so far as I can make out, though he don’t 
brag in the least about his exploits. He and the 
doctor are as thick as thieves; and I think the 
doctor’s wife likes him. Anyhow, he jumped at 
the chance of yachting with me when I offered 


Il8 DREWITT’S DREAM 

it to him; so it’s arranged that he’s to go with ns 
when we leave Venice. All the same, I wish it 
was you that was going.” 

“Thanks!” said Drewitt. “If you touch 
at many ports, I foresee that you will fill up the 
yacht with invited guests.” 

“ There’s Miss Simmons. I’ve had a notion 
of asking her to come along with us. The doc- 
tor’s wife misses her considerable, and says she 
knew just how to take care of her. You see, 
Mrs. Roberts enjoys mighty poor health, and, of 
course, she don’t have any faith in the doctor’s 
medicines, because he’s her husband. I tell her 
what’s wrong with her is liver, but she won’t 
listen to me. My experience shows me that liver 
is pretty nearly always the cause of any sickness. 
I remember one time when I had a swelled knee, 
and the doctor, who said it was rheumatism, 
couldn’t do anything for it. One day a friend of 
mine happened to come in, and he says, ‘ What’s 
the matter with you is liver.’ ' Rubbish,’ says I, 
'how can liver break out in a man’s kneel’ 
' Liver,’ says he, ' is liable to break out anywhere. 
You can depend upon it that your liver has gone 
wrong, and that’s what’s the matter with that 
knee of yours. You just take Thompson’s Paw- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


II9 

nee Chologogue, and you’ll be all right in the 
course of a fortnight.’ Well, I sent out for a 
dozen bottles of the Chologogue, and by the 
time I’d taken eight of them my knee was as 
well as ever.” 

“ I’ll certainly call you in the next time I am 
ill,” said Drewitt, laughing. 

“ This natural that’s coming with me knows 
a lot of medicine,” continued Gallegher. ‘‘ He 
learned it down on the coast of Africa. The doc- 
tor thinks that the man has made some discov- 
eries that are of great value, and he means to try 
some of the African medicines on the first sailor 
that falls sick. I don’t know as it will be exactly 
fair to the sailor, but the doctor says that any- 
thing is fair in the cause of science, and I don’t 
know enough about science to stand out against 
him. Well! I must be going. There’s a big list 
of things that I’ve got to see here before I can sit 
down and enjoy myself. That’s the worst of 
these foreign towns. You can’t go to one and 
put up at a hotel, and spend a quiet afternoon in 
the barroom, but you must walk yourself off your 
legs going from one church to another, and from 
one picture gallery to another. Give me an 
American town, where you can sit down and be 


120 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


quiet, without having to be dragged out to see 
sights/' 

Drewitt strolled down to the Riva, and lean- 
ing on the stone parapet in front of the Royal 
Palace, looked idly across the water. A gondola 
glided by, and he saw the arm of a woman resting 
on the ledge of the open window. Something 
suggested to him that it was the arm of the Saint. 
If so, she had not seen him, or else did not care 
to be recognised by him. The thought of her 
brought back the uneasy feeling that she had 
awakened when she told him that he was selfish 
and satisfied with himself. Did she really believe 
it? If so, he could easily convince her that she 
was mistaken. Evidently she had set herself to 
influence him as she had influenced others who 
had admired her beauty. She wanted to convert 
him to Salvationism. He would show her that 
he was the stronger. He would convert her to 
healthy worldliness. She would be infinitely 
happier and better if she were a little less fanati- 
cal in her religion. 

Was he not a man of the strictest integrity 
and honour? How absurd, then, it was for the 
Saint to accuse him of living a selfish life, and of 
being an utter pagan. If it were not that he 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


I2I 


wanted to prove to her that she had no influence 
over him he would never see her again. Though 
certainly she was a strangely attractive woman, 
it was not altogether her beauty that attracted 
him. It was the atmosphere of pure spirituality 
that enveloped her. But after all, what was she 
in comparison with the woman of his dreams! 
He recalled for the thousandth time the wild 
scene of panic in which he had met her, and saw, 
as clearly as though face to face with her, the 
look in her eyes as she said, “ It shall be,” in re- 
ply to his “ It must be forever.” He went with 
her again up the long slope to the block-house, 
every stone of which stood out clear in his men- 
tal vision. He felt her arms around his neck as 
she kissed him; and he saw her standing fearless- 
ly at his side at the supreme moment when they 
both looked death in the face. How pale and 
shadowy the living Saint seemed in comparison 
with the glorious woman who existed only in his 
feverish dream. “ I shall never love another 
woman,” he said to himself. “ She will always 
be a reality to me. She would never have mis- 
taken me for a prig, nor tried to make me a shout- 
ing Salvationist. She has my heart, and it is hers 
forever.” 


122 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


He went back to his hotel, and spent the 
evening with the millionaire and his friends. 
Gallegher talked incessantly, interrupted now and 
then by some spiteful remark from Mrs. Roberts. 
Her daughter was not visible, having gone to 
bed with a headache, the result, so her mother 
said, of going into Roman Catholic churches. 
Gallegher’s new friend, the naturalist, sat silent- 
ly listening to the millionaire’s conversation. 
The naturalist was a thin, sinewy man, with a yel- 
low complexion. There was something distinct- 
ly feline in his manner, and Drewitt took an 
instinctive dislike to him. When he went to his 
room he felt weary. It was a sense of the empti- 
ness of life wearied him. It was a new sensation, 
and he could not trace it to anything that the 
Saint had said, although he knew that in some 
way it was due to her. He resolved to see her on 
the morrow, and all that night she haunted his 
dreams. 

The next afternoon he carried out his pur- 
pose. He was met at the door of Miss Wynne’s 
reception-room by the nurse, who seemed un- 
easy and preoccupied, as she detained Drewitt 
for a moment in conversation. Just as she was 
about to open the door she said hurriedly, 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


123 


“ Don’t do anything to upset her. She isn’t 
strong, and she’s worried about you.” 

“ I can’t understand why she should be wor- 
ried about me,” he replied. 

“ It’s because you’re not saved. She thinks 
that it’s her duty to save you, and it’s my opinion 
that the job will be more than she can do. Please 
be careful what you say, and don’t shock her 
notions.” 

Drewitt readily promised, and was ushered 
into the drawing-room. Miss Wynne came for- 
ward to meet him with a smile of welcome that 
was so clearly genuine that in an instant his wa- 
vering resentment at her misinterpretation of his 
character vanished completely. 

'' I am so glad to see you,” she said. I was 
afraid that I had displeased you, and that you 
would not come again.” 

“ On the contrary, you see that I have comfe 
again at the earliest possible moment. Indeed, I 
fear that I have come altogether too soon.” 

It was good in you to come, and to pardon 
me for my rudeness. I have been thinking much 
about you since you were here.” 

I am proud to have been the subject of your 
thoughts.” 


9 


124 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“No! Don’t talk in that way! It is idle, and 
worldly. We have been brought together by 
what irreligious people call accident, as if there 
ever could be such a thing. I think that you 
were sent to me that I might bring you into a 
better life. I can not bear to think that you 
should lead a life of worldly selfishness, and then 
be lost forever. There is so much that is good in 
you, and if your life were consecrated you could 
do so much for others. You shall not live to 
yourself alone! Live for God and for your 
fellow men. Then you will know what true hap- 
piness is.” 

“ I am ready to learn that from you,” said 
Drewitt humbly. “ Perhaps I am a selfish beg- 
gar. I never thought of myself in that light 
before, but now it does seem as if I had been 
living only for myself.” 

“ Oh, my friend, do not risk your soul even 
for another moment. Come to Jesus now, this 
very instant. Kneel with me and pray God to 
save you.” 

She had risen from her seat as she spoke, and 
coming to Drewitt had taken both his hands in 
hers. She sank on her knees, and the young 
man, unable to resist her, kneeled by her side. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


125 


She prayed long and earnestly. She poured out 
her very soul. Her eyes were open and lifted 
to Heaven. In her face was the rapture of the 
beatific vision — that sublime ecstasy that devout 
painters of the middle ages tried to copy when 
painting the saints, and that now is seen only 
in the faces of the Salvation Lasses. A light 
from Heaven fell on her upturned face and glori- 
fied it. 

Drewitt listened reverently. He could not 
fail to note the beauty and earnestness of her 
prayer. He was profoundly touched by the sin- 
cerity of her efforts in his behalf. He revered 
her saintliness, of the genuineness of which he no 
longer dreamed of doubting. And yet the pray- 
er did not seize upon his soul. It was the woman 
who occupied his thought. Her beauty, her pur- 
ity, her saintliness fascinated him more than 
ever. He heartily wished that he could fulfil 
her desires, and become what she wished him to 
be. The tears came into his eyes as he kneeled, 
holding one of the woman’s hands. Why could 
he not yield wholly to her influence, and be saved 
then and there? 

When Miss Wynne rose from her knees she 
stood in front of Drewitt, and looked into his 


126 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


eyes with a beseeching expression that filled him 
with remorse. What had he done that this 
woman should yearn over him in this passionate 
way? Why did he not yield to her entreaties? 
A very little hypocrisy on his part would give her 
the happiness of believing that she had saved 
him. But hypocrisy revolted him. He did not 
speak, for he knew not what to say, but as he 
returned her look, he felt that she must see his 
sympathy for her disappointment. 

“ You can not give yourself up,” she said 
mournfully. “ But at least you can promise me 
not to resist. Wait and see if salvation does not 
come to you suddenly. It will surely come if you 
are willing to accept it. I will pray for you with- 
out ceasing, and my prayers have often been an- 
swered.” 

Once more she held out both her hands to 
him, and looked at him with sorrowful and loving 
eyes. A sudden temptation gripped him, and be- 
fore he had thought of its nature he had taken 
the woman in his arms and kissed her. He saw 
the flash of surprise and terror pass over her face, 
and then for an instant she nestled in his arms 
with wonder and happiness strangely blended in 
her face. It was no longer the face of the saint. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


127 


It was that of an innocent, happy child. Love, 
and trust, and delight were there, fading one 
into another like the glories of the rainbow. She 
had become a child. 

Remorse at his conduct, and wonder and dis- 
gust with himself, swept over Drewitt. Drawing 
back, he said: “ Forgive me. I was stark mad. 
I will go now and come to-morrow to beg your 
forgiveness.” 

Go at once,” she said, faintly. Come to- 
morrow, but go instantly.” She fled from the 
room before he had time to leave it, and when the 
rustle of her skirts was silent, and the room empty 
of her presence, he slunk away, like the criminal 
that he felt himself to be. 

She was right,” he kept repeating to him- 
self, as he walked rapidly through the narrow 
streets. '' She told me that I was a selfish prig, 
and now I know it. She might have told me 
that I was a cad and a scoundrel, and that would 
have been true. What under heaven induced me 
to do it! Fm not a saint, but I thought I was a 
gentleman. A brute would have been nearer the 
mark.” 

All day he upbraided himself for his folly and 
brutality. Was there any way in which he could 


128 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


make reparation for his fault? Like most young 
men, he had never hitherto regarded a kiss as a 
very serious thing. Had it been any other wom- 
an whom he had kissed he might have thought 
little of it, but to kiss the woman who had just 
risen from her knees after praying for his soul, 
was simply rank sacrilege. One thing gradually 
shaped itself in his mind. If Miss Wynne cared 
to marry him he must marry her. It would be 
the only reparation he could make. He must 
marry her, and become a Salvationist, for there 
would be no use in doing things by halves. After 
all, why might he not teach himself to believe as 
she believed? Might not she be in the right 
when she said that he could never know happi- 
ness until he was saved? 

Was he quite sure that he looked on the pos- 
sibility of marrying Miss Wynne as a penalty for 
a crime? Certainly he was not yet in sympathy 
with the religious fervor that was the main im- 
pulse of her life. Certainly she was utterly unlike 
the woman of his dreams who had hitherto been 
his ideal. But she was beautiful, and noble, and 
pure. Suppose that he did marry this saint, 
whose tender interest in his soul had suddenly 
blossomed into love. Surely it was absurd for 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


129 


him to remain forever faithful to a woman 
who had been evolved from a fever, and a 
broken head. He could easily bring himself to 
love Miss Wynne. He was not absolutely sure 
that he did not already love her. Would not 
nearly every intelligent man who knew the cir- 
cumstances advise him to marry her? 

The debate went on in his mind incessantly. 
He found himself unable to say whether he cared 
for Miss Wynne, or whether he wanted to escape 
from the fascination that she had woven about 
him. He thought that he did not want to marry 
her; but he felt sure that he did not want to leave 
her. He did not love her, and yet he felt irresist- 
ibly drawn to her. He scarcely slept at all that 
night, and when he did sleep he saw again the 
woman of his dream, and she whispered to him 
the one word “ forever.’’ When he awoke he 
wondered if there could be any meaning in the 
dream — if it had come to him as a warning and a 
guide. But it makes no difference,” he ex- 
claimed^ as he dressed himself. ‘‘ The only thing 
that is clear is that I must ask Miss Wynne to 
marry me, and may the Lord have mercy on our 
souls.” 

As, later, he went to Miss Wynne’s hotel, he 


30 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Still was tortured by the demon of uncertainty. 
He could not tell whether he was going on a 
painful or a pleasant errand. He was going to 
meet a beautiful and noble woman who would 
perhaps consent to be his wife. Or was he going 
to meet a woman whom he must marry against 
his will? He recalled her reading of his char- 
acter on the occasion of their first meeting, and 
he smiled to think that he had been indignant. 

The room was vacant when he was shown in 
by one of the servants of the hotel. The nurse 
was not visible. Drewitt stood uneasily at the 
side of the table wondering if Miss Wynne would 
see him, or if she had decided to have no more 
to do with a man capable of the gross outrage he 
had perpetrated. The minutes came and went, 
but she did not appear. Mechanically he took 
up a collection of photographs that lay on the 
table and looked at them in a careless way. They 
were of the class known as kodak pictures, and 
were evidently souvenirs of Miss Wynne’s visit 
to India. He looked at them one by one, but he 
scarcely saw them. He was asking himself if 
he should wait any longer, or if he should accept 
Miss Wynne’s absence as a contemptuous dis- 
missal of him. All at once the figure of a woman 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


I3I 

in one of the photographs caught his eye. The 
photograph represented a steamer in the Suez 
Canal, and over the quarter rail was leaning the 
woman of his dream. 

It was impossible to mistake her. The like- 
ness was perfect. Evidently the photograph had 
been taken at a distance of only a few yards, for 
the figure of the woman occupied nearly the 
whole of it. He could see plainly the peculiar 
cross that she wore at her throat, and she was 
dressed nearly as she had been dressed on the 
night of the panic. She seemed a trifle thinner 
than then, and he fancied that there was a sad- 
ness in her face which was absent during the 
hours when she fought by his side, and stood 
smiling to meet death with her arm around his 
neck. But there could be no room for doubt as 
to the identity of the portrait. The woman was 
then real, and not the creature of a disordered 
brain. It had all been true— that swift romance 
that had brought them so close together. She 
was living, and somewhere he would find her if 
he had to search through the whole world. 

And Miss Wynne? He grew cold and shiv- 
ered as he thought of her, and remembered the 
errand that had brought him to the room. How 


132 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


could he possibly marry her, now that he knew 
that the other woman lived. How could he say, 
“ I came here to ask you to marry me, but I have 
just thought of another woman and you must 
excuse me Had he not better run away and 
avoid seeing her? He dismissed the thought as 
soon as it came to him. “ I may be a cad,” he 
thought, but at least I will not be a coward.” 

Miss Wynne entered with a slow step. She 
greeted him gently and kindly, but without shak- 
ing hands. She had evidently been weeping, but 
she was as beautiful as ever, and there was a worn 
look on her face as of one who had passed 
through suffering. A great tenderness for her 
came over Drewitt. He came close to her where 
she was seated, and said, “ Can you ever forgive 
me?” 

''Oh yes! I forgive you gladly. But what 
have you done to me? I can not understand it.” 

" I was mad for a moment,” he stammered. 
" I meant no disrespect. I meant nothing.” 

" Do not try to explain,” she said quietly. 
" I am quite sure that you simply yielded to a 
sudden impulse, and meant me no harm. I do 
not hold you responsible, and I do not look upon 
a sudden and inexplicable impulse as a deadly 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


133 

crime. What troubles me is the effect that it 
has had upon me, and the certainty that it has 
given me that I must not see you again for a long 
time to come.” 

He stood silent, looking down and waiting 
for her to go on. 

“ I will speak perfectly frankly,” she said. “ I 
never dreamed of loving a man except with the 
love that one should feel for all God’s creatures, 
but now I know that I love you in a different 
way. Your kiss changed my whole nature. It 
awakened in me what I did not know existed. 
Yesterday my whole thoughts were of religion 
and duty. My whole pleasure was in spiritual 
things. Now it is you that I think of — the joy 
of seeing you, and of touching your hand. All 
holier and nobler thoughts have vanished. I 
thought I had done with earth, but at the first 
temptation I find myself no different from women 
that have never been saved or sanctified. How 
is it that you have done me this terrible in- 
jury? Why has God permitted that I should 
be so changed and cast down? I can not under- 
stand it.” 

“ I am intensely sorry,” he began. 

But I am not. I wish I could say that I 


134 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


am sorry, but I was happier that moment when 
you held me in your arms than I had ever been 
before, or shall ever be again. This shows how 
utterly I am brought low. Perhaps my spiritual 
pride needed this sharp lesson. I must learn it, 
but it will be hard.” 

“ Is there nothing that I can do? ” he asked. 

I came here to ask you to marry me, but I ” 

He stopped, for he saw how hopeless it was 
for him to explain that he had changed his mind 
because he had seen a photograph of another 
woman. 

“ Marriage is out of the question,” she said 
calmly. I would marry you if you really loved 
me, and if by so doing I could save your soul, 
but you do not love me, and by marrying you I 
should lose all influence for good that I might 
otherwise have over you.” 

He could not contradict her. He did not 
love her, so he thought, but she had never seemed 
so lovable as at that moment. 

“ Tell me,” he asked, showing her the photo- 
graph which he still held in his hand, where 
did you take this? I will tell why I ask, pres- 
ently.” 

“ It is the photograph of a steamer that we 


DREWITT’S DREAM 1 35 

passed last month in the Suez Canal. She was 
aground, so they said.” 

“ Has Kate told you that when I was getting 
over the fever I insisted upon asking for a woman 
who I said had been by my side the night I was 
wounded? ” 

“ Oh yes! She said it was the most re- 
markable case of hallucination she had ever 
known.” 

“ I believed, until a few moments ago, that 
the whole thing was a dream, and that the woman 
never existed. But this is a photograph of her; 
I loved her and she loved me. I find, just at the 
moment when I meant to ask you to be my wife, 
that she is real, and is waiting for me. Tell me 
what I shall do! You know me better than I 
know myself. You saw what I was the first time 
you met me, when I was so smugly satisfied with 
myself, and thought that I was one of the most 
blameless of men. Tell me what to do and I will 
do it. I have absolute confidence in you.” 

“ There is but one thing for you to do. You 
must find this woman. You must search the 
world for her, and you will be absolutely sure to 
find her. You are bound to her forever, and 
nothing must come between you.” 


136 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ You are the noblest woman on earth! ” he 
cried. 

'‘Alas! I am one of the weakest. I have 
still enough strength given to me to do my duty, 
but I long inexpressibly to throw it aside, and 
yield myself completely to the new impulses that 
you have unconsciously awakened in me. I shall 
say good-bye to you now. I shall never cease to 
pray for you, and I fear I shall never cease to love 
you. At this moment I would willingly give all 
the rest of my life if you would take me in your 
arms and kiss me once more. But now 1 leave 
you, and we shall not meet until I have con- 
quered this weakness. Do not touch me nor 
speak to me again. Good-bye, till we meet 
where I can love you without sin.” 

She fled away, and he was left alone with his 
conscience and the likeness of the woman who 
had so suddenly come up out of the land of 
dreams into the world of reality. 


CHAPTER V 

A CURIOUS concourse of emotions thronged 
upon Drewitt as he left Miss Wynne’s room, and 
walked toward his own hotel. Shame at his con- 
duct toward a woman he now thoroughly ad- 
mired and respected, mingled with relief at his 
escape from unexpected matrimony. Remorse 
for the wrong he had done to one woman strove 
with the fierce joy of the discovery that the 
woman of his dreams was living. He did not 
hesitate a moment as to his future course. He 
would throw up his railway contract, and start 
for Port Said by the first steamer. There he 
would be able to ascertain what steamer was 
aground in the canal about the date when Miss 
Wynne made her photograph. When once he 
had identified the steamer, he would follow her 
to her port of destination, and with the help of 
her passenger list would pursue his search until 
he found the woman he loved. He remembered 


137 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


138 

that a P. & O. boat would sail from Venice for 
Egypt in three days, and he decided to take pas- 
sage in her at once. 

As he turned into the street where the steam- 
ship office is situated, he met Mr. Gallegher, who 
was alone, and had apparently lost himself in the 
labyrinth of the crooked Venetian streets. He 
was delighted to meet Drewitt, and took his arm 
after the friendly but somewhat embarrassing 
custom of his fellow-countrymen. 

“ Where are you going in such a hurry? he 
asked. 

“ I am going to secure a berth in the steamer 
for Egypt.” 

“ Sort of sudden, ain’t it? I thought you 
were going to show these Italians how to build 
railroads.” 

‘‘ They will have to get on without me. Eve 
just made a discovery that upsets all my plans. 
You remember the dream I told you in the hos- 
pital — a dream in which I met a woman who 
helped me to defend a block-house? ” 

Certainly, and you remember that I told 
you there was probably something more than a 
dream in it? ” 

You did, and you were right. Eve just seen 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


139 


a photograph of the woman — an instantaneous 
kodak photograph. At the time the photograph 
was taken she was on board a steamer bound 
east, that had run aground in the Suez Canal. 
I’m going to Egypt to find her. I’d go if it in- 
volved things of a thousand times more conse- 
quence than giving up a railway contract.” 

“Right you are! Follow that dream, and 
you’ll come to something. Get on the track of 
that woman and stick to it. You’ll find her, and 
I don’t doubt that she’ll prove worth finding. 
But see here! This sort of thing will run into 
considerable money. How are you off in that 
respect? ” 

“ I’ve not very much money, but I have 
enough to pay my way to Bombay, or Hong- 
kong, or even Australia. She must have gone 
in one of those three directions.” 

“ And after you get there, will you have any 
money to spare? ” 

“ Very little, but I should go if I had to work 
my passage.” 

“ Now just see here. I’ve been miserable for 
the last six months because I haven’t had any- 
thing to do. I’ve always been a hard-working 

man, and here I am without any object in life, 
10 


140 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


except to cruise round in a silly yacht. This 
knocking round the world and doing nothing is 
killing me. That’s the reason I tried to get some 
culture, for I thought it would be a good steady 
employ for me, but it didn’t pan out that way. 
I was pretty near ready to chuck the whole thing, 
and sell the yacht, and go back to America the 
quickest way, but just then along you come and 
give me a first-class object. There’s nothing I 
should admire to do more than to help you find 
that woman. Here’s my yacht. You come with 
me. The tide will be in by five o’clock, and we’ll 
start for Egypt at half past five. The yacht can 
steam the heavy old English liner out of sight, 
and we’ll be in Egypt before you could get fairly 
started in any other boat. When we get there 
we’ll find out all about that steamer that went 
aground, and we’ll follow her up as if we were a 
pirate chasing a treasure ship. No! No! I 
don’t want any of your thanks. It’s me that 
ought to thank you for giving me an object once 
more, and I feel that I ought to pay you a big 
sum of money for letting me take a hand in this 
chase. I can’t think of anything outside of poli- 
tics that would be more interesting than a search 
after a woman whose name you don’t know, who 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


I4I 

has gone to some unearthly place that you 
haven't identified. It'll beat those puzzles in the 
Sunday papers, that the women folks work out 
Sunday afternoon, all hollow. You go and get 
your traps and come aboard the yacht in half an 
hour, I'll go and attend to a little business that 
I've got to do ashore, and I'll meet you down 
at the landing place at three-thirty precisely." 

But," said Drewitt, “ how can I " 

I can't waste time talking to you. I've got 
an object and I'm going to make things hustle. 
You're coming along with me, and that's settled. 
If you don't mean to come, just say so right here, 
and we'll quarrel, and have it over. By-the-bye, 
Miss Simmons is going with us. I made her an 
offer yesterday, to come and be a companion to 
the doctor's wife, gave her ten minutes to decide, 
and offered her a salary that would have made 
any other woman decide in ten seconds. She 
took all the afternoon to make up her mind. 
However, being a sensible girl, she accepted my 
offer and she's aboard the yacht with Mrs. Rob- 
erts this very minute! Well! Good-bye till half 
past three! I've got to hunt up my natural, and 
send him aboard the yacht. Mind you're not a 
minute later than half past three." 


142 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


Drewitt hurried to his hotel, and wrote a 
letter to the directors of the railway company, 
resigning his position as engineer. Then, put- 
ting together his few possessions, he called a 
porter to carry them to the Piazzetta, where he 
met the millionaire, accompanied by Mr. Cum- 
nor, the naturalist. In a few moments they stood 
on the deck of the yacht. Drewitt was amazed 
at the change in the appearance of Gallegher. 
He no longer wore the dull, tired look which had 
been habitual to him, except at the rare moments 
when he forgot his duties as a millionaire. He 
was now alert, .nervous, quick in speech, and his 
eyes were bright with the renewed sensation of 
leadership. Drewitt felt a sudden increase of his 
respect for the man. 

‘‘ Captain,’’ said Gallegher, as he reached 
the deck, ‘‘ are your men all aboard? ” 

All but two, sir.” 

“ Have you got a man you can trust to take 
a note ashore, and be back again in half an 
hour? ” 

I think so, sir.” 

“ And how about the passengers? Are they 
all here? ” 


All of them, sir.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


143 

“ Then we’ll leave here at five o’clock for — > 
what’s that place where you go into the Suez 
Canal? ” 

Port Said.” 

“ We’ll leave for Port Said at five o’clock, 
and we’ll make the shortest passage on record.” 

Very good, sir.” 

And send me the chief engineer at once.” 

The chief engineer was summoned, and 
leisurely made his appearance. He was a middle- 
aged, grizzled Scotchman, whose face was as 
expressionless as his engines when they were cold 
and motionless. 

Mr. Cochrane,” said the millionaire, we’re 
going to start for Port Said at five o’clock. That 
will give you about an hour to get up steam! ” 

It can’t be done, sir,” replied the engineer. 

'' Why not? I’d like to know your reasons, 
though we’ll start all the same.” 

“ We’ve not coal enough aboard, sir. We’ll 
need another day to coal her before we start the 
fires.” 

“We filled up the bunkers at Gibraltar, 
didn’t we? ” 

“ We did, sir, and a mighty dirty job it was.” 

“ We’ve steamed nine days altogether since 


144 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


we left Gibraltar and this boat holds coal enough 
for twenty-one days’ steaming at full speed. 
Now, where’s the rest of that coal? According to 
my arithmetic there’s twelve days’ coal in the 
bunkers, and you say we can’t start till we’ve 
taken in more. Is that what you’re prepared to 
stick to? ” 

'' I said we needed to coal before leaving here, 
sir, and I say it again.” 

“ Captain,” said Gallegher, “ you’ll set this 
man ashore in ten minutes. If he isn’t over the 
side by that time throw him over.” 

You can’t do that, sir,” exclaimed the en- 
gineer. ''You can’t discharge me at ten min- 
utes’ notice; I’ll not go ashore.” 

" Captain, put that man in irons at once, and 
send me the second engineer. My man,” he con- 
tinued, speaking to the Scotchman, " this is my 
yacht, and I calculate to do as I darned please 
with her. I’ll not heave you overboard, but I’ll 
take you along in irons and feed you on bread 
and water, unless you leave the yacht peaceably. 
• You’ve eight minutes left to decide in, and if I 
were you, I’d sort of improve the time.” 

When the second engineer appeared, Galle- 
gher simply notified him that he was to take 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


145 


charge of the engines in place of Mr. Cochrane, 
who had decided, so the American remarked, to 
stop ashore. 

“ Be ready to start at five o’clock,” added 
Gallegher, “ and when we do start, make her 
walk. I’m in a hurry, and this isn’t a pleasure 
cruise this time.” 

Going to his cabin Gallegher wrote a note to 
the American consul, informing him that two 
sailors would probably call on him, and say that 
they had been deserted by the yacht. He in- 
closed two hundred dollars, which he requested 
the consul to pay the men, and then, having de- 
spatched the note by a messenger, he returned to 
the deck, threw himself into his deck-chair, and 
lighting a heavy black cigar, insisted that Drew- 
itt should follow his example. 

“ I haven’t had such a bang-up good time 
since I left home,” remarked the millionaire re- 
flectively. ‘‘ It’s the first time I ever undertook 
to meddle in the affairs of this yacht, but I 
guess after this all hands will understand that I’m 
going to be boss.” 

'' Why did the engineer invent that prepos- 
terous lie about the coals? ” asked Drewitt. 

He didn’t want to get away from here to- 


146 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


day, and he calculated that Fd believe what he 
said. He’s probably got some lark on hand 
ashore to-night, though he looks as if a funeral 
on a rainy day would be the only thing that he’d 
really enjoy. But you can never tell what a 
Scotchman will do. I could tell you a story 
about a Scotchman that used to live in my ward 
that would amuse you considerable, but I’ll keep 
it till we need amusement more than we do just 
now. Business first and pleasure afterward has 
always been my motto, but I always believe that 
unless you’re bound to have the pleasure there’s 
no sort of use in attending to the business. Now 
let’s just look at things and see how we stand. 
I suppose that you’ve got that photograph with 
you.” 

I am sorry to say that I have not. I meant 
to ask for it, but finding it was such a surprise to 
me, that I came away and forgot to ask for it.” 

That’s a pity, and it goes to show that 
you’re not fit to run this job alone. That photo- 
graph would have helped us to identify the 
steamer your friend was aboard of. I don’t yet 
see how we are going to get along without it. 
Here’s the situation. A woman, whose name 
you don’t know, was aboard a steamer you don’t 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


147 

know the name of, on some unknown date. That 
looks pretty foggy.” 

‘‘ I know the date. It was the nineteenth of 
last month.” 

“ All right. Then there was a steamer ashore 
in the Suez Canal on the nineteenth of last 
month. When we get to Port Said we can go 
to the office of the canal company and find out 
what steamer was ashore on that day, where she 
was bound to, and where she is now. Then we 
can go to the office of the steamship company 
and get the passenger list. Perhaps they won’t 
have any passenger list at Port Said, but we can 
telegraph to England, or wherever the steamer 
came from, and get it, though it may delay us a 
little. Then our trouble is going to begin. Say 
there were thirty women passengers. We shall 
have to find out where each one of those women 
landed, and follow her up till we find her. We 
may strike your friend the first time, and we may 
not find her till we chase down every one of the 
thirty women. We’ll find her some day, but 
there’s the chance that she may be pretty mid- 
dling old before that time comes. 

'' Come to think of it,” continued Gallegher, 
‘T don’t know but what we may have to stay at 


148 DREWITT’S DREAM 

Port Said till that steamer comes back. If she's 
due there on her way back from somewhere in- 
side of a week, we should save time by waiting 
for her, and interviewing the captain. He might 
remember your friend from your description of 
her, and tell us right off where she is now. Still, 
we won’t waste more than a week waiting for 
him. We’re going to find that woman somehow, 
and don’t you forget it. This job suits me down 
to the ground. I’ve chucked culture for good 
and all. I’ve got an object now, and that’s what 
I’ve been needing ever since I left New York. 
I can tell you it^s just making a new man of me.” 

Beyond a doubt the millionaire spoke the 
truth. The whole bearing of the man had 
changed since he had pledged himself to aid 
Drewitt in his search. He was alert and confi- 
dent — a man born to command. 

Speaking about having an object,” con- 
tinued Gallegher. I knew a man in our town 
about fifteen years ago. He was a man who 
had money enough to live on and nothing to do. 
He’d laze around town for three or four days, 
tiring other people by talking to them when he’d 
nothing to say, and finally he’d get so disgusted 
with things generally that he’d go and get drunk 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


149 


and stay drunk for the rest of the week. One 
day I says to him, ' Parsons ’ — that was his name 
— ' Parsons,’ says I, ‘ what you want is an object 
in life.’ 

“ ‘ That’s so,’ he says, ‘ but how am I going 
to get it? I haven’t got to earn my living. I 
don’t take no interest in politics, and I just de- 
spise collecting postage stamps or playing poker. 
I can’t see what there is for me to do.’ 

‘‘^Do anything,’ says I. 'Try regulating 
clocks. You go down to the clock store and buy 
a dozen clocks. Put one in every room in your 
house and set to work to make them all strike to- 
gether at precisely the same minute. You try 
that for a steady occupation, and you’ll find that 
life looks as bright to you, as it does to men that 
ain’t quite so fortunate.’ 

“ ' Thank you, colonel,’ says Parsons. ' PH 
do just as you say.’ And b’gosh! He done it. 
He bought two dozen clocks instead of one, and 
he laid out to make them keep exact time. He 
never had leisure enough to take a drink from 
that day on, and he was the most contented and 
hard-working man I ever knew. He did run the 
thing a little into the ground, for he stuck to 
clock-regulating so close that at the end of two 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


150 

years he went crazy, and was sent to a lunatic 
asylum, where he died. Still, as long as he lived, 
he was a living proof of the good that it does a 
man to have an object in life. 

“ Now here you are. This morning you were 
fooling around Venice, sort of half making up 
your mind to marry a woman that wasn’t ever 
meant for you. I don’t mean any disrespect to 
either of you, but neither of you were suited to 
the other. How did I know about it? Why, 
you gave yourself away, though you didn’t know 
it, when you began talking to me about not 
being satisfied with yourself. Well! Look at 
yourself now. You’ve got a first-class object on 
hand, and you won’t find yourself bothering 
about whether you’re satisfied or not satisfied 
with yourself. As for me, I wouldn’t have missed 
this chance for ten thousand dollars. It’s made 
this yachting nonsense into a sensible and pleas- 
ant thing. It’s pretty near as good as what I 
used to think pirating would be when I was a 
boy. Here’s the captain. Now let’s hear what 
our Scotch friend has made up his mind to do.” 

“ Where’s Mr. Cochrane? ” asked Gallegher, 
as the captain approached him. 

** He went ashore, sir, about ten minutes ago. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


151 

We’re all ready to get up the anchor, and the en- 
gineer will have steerage way on her in five min- 
utes more/' 

'' Then we’ll start at once, before Mr. Coch- 
rane comes to call on us with a couple of police- 
men. I should have to carry them all the way to 
Port Said, and I shouldn’t like to do that. I’ve 
always stood in with the police, and I don’t want 
to quarrel with them now.” 

That’s the trouble with Scotchmen,” said 
Gallegher presently, as he and Drewitt paced the 
quarter-deck. “ They’re always thinking about 
the law, and wanting to hand over all their cares 
and sorrows to the police. Now I don’t never 
ask laws or policemen to help me. I made the 
laws of Sallust City, and for twenty-five years 
there wasn’t a policeman appointed except me. 
I always held that the man who made laws could 
do as he pleased with them, and that the man who 
appointed policemen needn’t act as if they were 
his superiors. My policemen always stuck by 
me, and there wasn’t a tough job that they 
wouldn’t have done if I’d asked them to do it. 

I was telling you awhile ago of a Scotchman 
who managed politics for me for a while in the 
Sixth ward. He was a chap who always wanted 


152 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


to do things legally. The Sixth ward was gener- 
ally Democratic by about three thousand major- 
ity, but one year there was a split in the party and 
this Scotchman — Cameron was his name — came 
to me about two hours before the polls closed on 
election day, and said that he was certain that the 
Republican candidate had carried the ward. 

‘‘ ‘ That's a pretty story to come to me with,' 
says I. ‘ You've had all the money you asked 
for, and it's your business to see that the regular 
Democratic candidate is elected. What have 
you done with all the money? ' 

I've bought votes with it, like an honest 
man,' he says. ‘ And I've got my vouchers 
whenever you want to see them. But votes are 
dear this year and the Republicans have spent 
more money than we have.' 

'' ‘ In that case,' says I, ‘ all you have to do 
is smash the ballot-boxes, and we'll have a new 
election. You get up a row in the polling-booth, 
and, in the course of it, have a heavy man fall on 
the ballot-box and smash it.' I ought to say that 
our ballot-boxes are made of glass. ‘ Get Tom 
Walsh,' I said, ‘ he'll do the job for you in good 
style, for he weighs pretty near four hundred 
pounds.' 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


153 


“ ‘ But/ says Cameron, ‘ that wouldn't be 
legal. Tom Walsh ain’t an inspector of elec- 
tions, and he ain’t a policeman. Consequently 
he hasn’t any right to meddle with the ballot- 
box. Can’t you order a couple of policemen to 
fall on the box? Then the thing will be done in 
a legal way.’ 

You send Tom Walsh to me,’ says I, ' and 
then you go and attend to your private affairs. 
I’ll run this election business myself.’ He slunk 
out looking pretty small, and I sent Tom Walsh 
down to the polling-booth, and he smashed that 
ballot-box into a million splinters, and saved the 
election. That ridiculous Cameron would have 
let our party be beaten sooner than employ 
any one except a policeman to fall on that ballot- 
box. It’s just such preposterous fondness for 
law and order that makes the Scotchman next 
door to impossible to deal with. He’s a good 
man in his own place, but my idea of what that 
place is, differs a good deal from his, and is a 
sight warmer.” 

The yacht glided slowly down the channel 
that leads to Malamocco. The passengers as- 
sembled on the deck to watch the gorgeous 
vision of Venice under the slant rays of the 


154 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


western sun that tinged the atmosphere with 
blue and gold. No one seemed disturbed at the 
suddenness of the yacht’s departure except Mrs. 
Roberts, who declared that it was a shame to 
leave Venice, where there was such beautiful 
lace, and to go to some outlandish country, where 
it would be impossible to get a copy of the New 
York Herald, not to mention the Sallust City 
Palladium of Freedom. 

“ That’s all nonsense, mommer,” exclaimed 
Miss Roberts. “ You know perfectly well that 
Venice is a one-horse town without a decent 
shop in it. Of course there’s lace if you care for 
lace, which I don’t; but there’s nothing else but 
ugly glass dishes and gilt jewellery. What peo- 
ple can see in Venice to rave about, as Sarah 
Bloodgood used to rave, I can’t imagine. I’m 
glad enough to leave it and I never want to see it 
again.” 

“ Where are we going to, Mr. Gallegher? ” 
asked Mrs. Roberts. '' Is it true that we’re go- 
ing to Egypt? ” 

The millionaire smiled an inscrutable smile. 

Sealed orders, ma’am. We’re on an important 
mission, and I darsent say what it is just yet. I 
don’t mind telling you that our first stopping 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


155 

place will be Port Said, and after that we’ll go 
wherever our orders take us.” 

“ Now that is delightful,” said Mrs. Roberts. 
“It’s what I call romantic. Isn’t Port Said in the 
Holy Land? I do wish you’d have the yacht 
take us to Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea, and all 
those other holy places.” 

“ Port Said is in Egypt, ma’am,” returned 
Gallegher, “ and from what they tell me, I 
shouldn’t say it was in any holy land. I rather 
calculate it’s in the other sort of place.” 

“ Port Said is at the entrance of the Suez 
Canal,” explained Drewitt. 

“ Oh! Do let us go through the canal,” cried 
Mrs. Roberts. “ I should so love to see the Red 
Sea, where those dear Israelites were drowned. 
It must be so interesting.” 

“ According to my recollection,” broke in the 
doctor, “ it was the Egyptians, and not the Is- 
raelites, who were drowned in the Red Sea. It 
isn’t of much consequence, still it is as well to be 
accurate when you are referring to the Scrip- 
tures.” 

“ I must say you are polite,” returned his 
wife. “ I’ve always heard it said that it’s rude to 
contradict a lady. However, I suppose it’s all 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


156 

right for a scientific man to do it, especially if he 
can bring in a sneer at the Bible.” 

“ What’s the use of getting angry, mom- 
mer,” said the daughter; '' popper wasn’t sneer- 
ing at anything. He’s right, too, about the Isra- 
elites. They crossed over on a bridge made of 
Aaron’s rods, and the Egyptians swallowed the 
rods and were drowned. I don’t pretend to be 
extra well posted in the Bible, but I learnt all 
about the Red Sea business when I went to Sun- 
day-school, and I won’t have you finding fault 
with popper. I hope, Mr. Gallegher, you’ll take 
us through the Red Sea to some of those de- 
lightful Pacific Islands; we might find the very 
island where that chaplain wanted to go and 
preach at the natives.” 

“ I’ll be very glad to accommodate you. Miss 
Mamie,” replied Gallegher, '' and there’s no say- 
ing but what we may see the Pacific before we 
go home. Those heathen were lucky that the 
chaplain went home from Naples without get- 
ting a chance to preach at them. He was a ma- 
licious sort of chap, and I’m glad he didn’t get a 
chance to carry out his revengeful plans.” 

“ The day may come, Mr. Gallegher,” re- 
marked Mrs. Roberts severely, “ when you will 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


157 

be sorry that you made a mock of sacred 
things.’’ 

“ I ain’t doing any mocking,” replied Galle- 
gher, good-humouredly. “ And I ain’t aware 
that I mentioned any sacred things. Heathen 
ain’t particular sacred, so far as I know, and if 
that chaplain was sacred, then I don’t want any- 
thing sacred about me. However, we won’t fall 
out and chide and fight, as the good Book says; 
and if you hanker after heathen we’ll try and 
show you some in the course of the cruise.” 

“ I’m sure I don’t want to see any heathen,” 
said Mrs. Roberts. “ They dress perfectly dis- 
gracefully, and how any modest woman can be 
a missionary among them is something I can’t 
understand.” 

I like their style of dress,” said Miss Rob- 
erts. It’s ever so much more graceful than 
ours. I saw some Hindus in Venice, and they 
looked perfectly elegant.” 

‘‘ I wasn’t speaking of decent heathen, like 
the Hindus,” said her mother. ‘‘ The heathen 
I mean are those that don’t wear any clothes at 
all.” 

‘‘Why, mommer! How can you speak in 
that way! You ought to be ashamed of yourself 


158 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


to mention such a thing. Mr. Drewitt, I’m so 
glad you’re coming with us. It was such a sur- 
prise to find you here, when I thought you were 
going to work on a railroad.” 

“ I have resigned my contract,” said Drewitt, 
“ and as there were reasons why I should go to 
Port Said, Mr. Gallegher very kindly asked me 
to come with him.” 

‘‘ It’s a good thing he did ask you. This is a 
poky old ship, with no young men in it except 
common sailors. I’m just dying for a flirtation, 
but you might as well try to flirt with a brass 
knob as with Mr. Gallegher or the captain.” 

“ I’m afraid I should not be of much service 
in flirting,” said Drewitt. “ I know so little of 
it, that with the best intentions I should be sure 
to make a muddle of it.” 

‘‘ Oh, you can learn. You’ve got to learn to 
flirt just as you have to learn to read. You’d 
better begin at once, by taking me for a walk on 
deck before the ship begins to roll. I’m not the 
least afraid but what you’ll learn to flirt in six 
easy lessons, as the advertisements say.” 

Drewitt accepted the invitation with as much 
grace as he could command. 

The empty chatter of the girl jarred on him 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


159 


to-day more than ever, partly because his 
thoughts were on the quest he had undertaken, 
and partly because the girl seemed so utterly out 
of place amid the glorious setting of the Venetian 
lagoon. Unquestionably she was pretty, and her 
free and easy manners made her at times an 
amusing companion. Still, her shallowness and 
unconscious vulgarity were repellent to him. 
He was heartily glad when his fair instructress 
released him, and he was left to the companion- 
ship of his own thoughts. 

The yacht was now passing through the Ma- 
lamocco inlet, and beginning to feel the gentle 
swell of the Adriatic. Mr. Gallegher sent for the 
engineer and asked him if the engines were in 
perfect order. 

“ I can’t see anything amiss with them, sir,” 
the man replied. “ There ain’t a better pair of 
engines afloat.” 

Then just see how much you can get out of 
them. I want to break the record between here 
and Port Said. You keep her going at her top 
speed, and when we get to Port Said, I’ll try to 
get another assistant for you, if you need him.” 

Thank you, sir, I’ll go below and see what 
I can do. I’ll work those stokers to skin and 


l6o DREWITT’S DREAM 

bone, if that will give you the speed you re- 
quire/’ 

It was not long before it was evident that the 
engineer was as good as his word. The vessel 
rushed through the water at a speed of which 
Gallegher had never supposed her capable. The 
deck quivered under the incessant throb of the 
engines, and the black smoke poured from the 
funnel. 

'' Now this is what I call going ahead,” said 
the millionaire, enthusiastically. “ Look at that 
steamer ahead of us. She’s going the same way 
as we are, but she might be a dock, or a light- 
house, by the way we are coming up with her. 
They tell me it costs coal to get this sort of pace 
out of a steamer, but I don’t care what it costs. 
We’ll beat the time of the mail boat by at least a 
day, so the captain tells me, and I haven’t had 
the pleasure of beating anything since I went 
out of politics. By-the-by, is that young woman 
— that friend of yours, I mean — single or a 
widow? ” 

I couldn’t positively say,” replied Drewitt. 

It never occurred to me that she could have 
been married, but I never asked her for her card. 
We had other things to think of.” 




DREWITT’S DREAM 


l6l 


‘‘ Of course you don’t think she is a married 
woman at the present time, with a husband 
above ground and undivorced? If that was so I’d 
have to crawfish out of this chase. I’ve always 
been a moral man, and I calculate you’re the 
same. You don’t look like the style of man who 
would go and fall in love with a married woman 
before she had so much as begun divorce pro- 
ceedings.” 

“ Of course she had no husband living,” re- 
plied Drewitt, with scarcely repressed irritation. 

I didn’t ask her for a history of her life, but that 
she is free to be my wife, I am as certain as I can 
be of anything.” 

Then you ought to have said so at first, but 
I suppose you hadn’t thought much about it. 
You’ll have a curious experience when you do 
find her and begin to make her acquaintance. 
Now, I’d rather make a woman’s acquaintance, 
and learn her name and such, before falling in love 
with her and marrying her, but then I ain’t any 
authority on marriage. I never saw but one 
woman that I’d have dreamed of marrying, and 
she wasn’t a marrying woman herself. If she had 
been, probably I should not have been start- 
ing on a wild-goose chase with a man who gets 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


162 

riled as easy as a girl when you tread on her 
dress.” 

'' I beg your pardon,” said Drewitt. '' I am 
sure I value your great kindness to me, and I 
hope some day to prove it.” 

'' Enough said, my son. Don't make moun- 
tains out of mole-hills. There ain’t any particular 
kindness, so far as I can see, in helping you in 
this business. I’m not sure that it ain’t the worst 
sort of unkindness to you. But there! I’m en- 
joying myself for the first time since I first came 
aboard this yacht, and if I talk a little free it’s 
because I’m in good spirits, and you mustn’t 
mind what I say.” 

The yacht, driven at her utmost speed, 
reached Port Said in little more than half the time 
usually employed by the mail steamers from 
Brindisi. As soon as the vessel was moored near 
the entrance to the canal, Drewitt and the mil- 
lionaire went to the office of the canal company, 
and made inquiries as to the steamer that had 
been aground in the canal on the nineteenth of 
the preceding month. 

Some time was spent by the official in charge 
in searching through the records, and then he 
announced that on the date in question the Af- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


163 

ghan, of the Peninsular and Oriental line, had 
grounded just west of Ismailia, and remained 
aground for nearly twenty-four hours. 

'' That’s your boat,” exclaimed Gallegher. 
‘‘ Where was she going to? ” he continued, ad- 
dressing the clerk. 

“To Sydney. But there was another steamer 
ashore the same day, a French Messageries boat 
bound to Hongkong. She was aground for six 
hours in the Bitter Lakes.” 

“ And what was her name? ” 

“ She was the Philippe Auguste. She will 
be back here at the end of next month, unless 
something happens toiler.” 

“ And when will the Afghan return? ” asked 
Drewitt. 

“ She is due to sail from here for London on 
June 24th. If you want to meet her you could 
catch her at Colombo by taking the steamer that 
leaves here to-morrow.” 

“ Now then,” said Gallegher, as he and Drew- 
itt left the office, “ was this friend of yours Eng- 
lish? ” 

“ Certainly she was — that is, I have no doubt 
of it, for she did not speak with the slightest 
foreign accent.” 


164 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


If she was English she’d be aboard the Eng- 
lish boat, and not the French boat. Judging 
from what I’ve seen of your countrymen they 
would go to sea in any old English tub, sooner 
than sail with a Frenchman, and I don’t know 
as I blame them for it. But you see, if she 
wasn’t English, and was almost any kind of a 
foreigner, the chances are that she would be on 
the French boat. It’s an awful pity you didn’t 
bring that photograph. We might have told by 
it whether the boat was English or French.” 

You can make your mind easy,” said Drew- 
itt. She was English, and I feel reasonably 
certain that she was on board the English 
ship.” 

'' Then we’ll go straight to the P. & O. office 
and see if they’ve got the Afghan’s passenger list, 
and when we get it we’ll look at the names of 
all the single English women, and that’ll narrow 
down our search considerable.” 

But there was no passenger list at the P. & O. 
office, though the clerk had no doubt that the 
list could be seen in the company’s office at 
London. 

Then just you telegraph straight to Lon- 
don,” said Gallegher, “ and tell them to send on 


DREWITT’S DREAM 165 

the full list of all the passengers that were aboard 
that boat when she was stranded.” 

“ A telegram of that length will cost consid- 
erable,” suggested the clerk. 

“ I didn’t ask you what it would cost. I’ll 
put up a hundred dollars with you as security, or 
two hundred, if you say so. I want that list and I 
want it now.” 

“ Very good, sir,” replied the clerk. “ You 
shall have it if it is to be had, but you must re- 
member that they can’t give you a complete list 
at London. Passengers may have come aboard 
at Brindisi, and it’s nearly certain that they did. 
And then, there are usually a few passengers who 
come aboard at Ismailia or Port Said.” 

'' Then wait a bit before you send that tele- 
gram,” said Gallegher. What’s your idea, Mr. 
Drewitt, of the place where that lady went aboard 
the steamer? Did she go all the way to London, 
do you think? ” 

She may have crossed to Brindisi and joined 
the steamer there, or she may have gone from 
the Piraeus direct to Alexandria, and then in that 
case she would have come aboard here.” 

Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do. We’ll tele- 
graph to Brindisi, and get the name of the pas- 


i66 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


sengers that joined the ship there, and this gen- 
tleman will tell us what ladies joined her at Port 
Said or Ismailia/^ 

The clerk promptly replied that the only pas- 
senger who had come aboard the Afghan at Port 
Said was a man by the name of Butcher. 

“We don’t want Butcher,” said the million- 
aire. “ You needn’t send that telegram to Lon- 
don, but you just send to Brindisi, and ask for the 
list of passengers that joined the boat there. 
When the answer comes send it to me aboard my 
yacht, the Caucus, that is lying in the harbour, 
and there will be fifty francs in addition to the 
cost of the telegram ready for the man who 
brings it.” 

“ Very good, sir,” said the clerk. “ You will 
probably have an answer by nine o’clock, and I 
will bring it myself, so as to make sure that you 
get it.” 

“ And that you get the fifty francs. That’s 
right, young man. If you want a thing done 
well, always do it yourself.” 

“ If I might take the liberty,” the clerk con- 
tinued, “ I could give you an introduction to the 
chief of police here, who might be of use to you 
if your business is anything in the detective line.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


167 

That’s just what it is,” replied Gallegher. 
‘'We’re working up a mighty important case, 
and as we want to find the person we are in search 
of, we don’t want any detective policeman to 
meddle in the thing. Outside of a story-book, 
the detective is the biggest ass living. I know, 
for I’ve appointed dozens of them in my time, 
and there wasn’t one of them that knew a clue 
when it was in his hand, unless it was labelled in 
letters half an inch big. Well, so long. You 
bring that telegram and I’ll give you a glass of 
whisky that will make you cry like a child.” 

" We’re making progress, I think,” said the 
millionaire, as the two friends walked toward the 
harbour. “We’ll get the names of the passengers, 
and then you can pick out the name that suits 
you. Do you think you have the least chance of 
hitting it? ” 

“ I can only try,” said Drewitt. 

“ Let me advise you not to make the mistake 
of taking for granted that your friend has a pretty 
name. Sometimes a man’s name is an awful mis- 
fit, and I calculate that it’s the same way with 
women. I knew a man whose name was Napo- 
leon B. Wellington. You’d naturally expect a 
man with such a name to be a fighter from way- 


1 68 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


back, but this chap was the mildest sort of a 
Baptist minister; and he wouldn’t have fought 
or even swore, if a Presbyterian had got hold of 
him and sprinkled him by force. Then I knew 
another man by the name of Smithers, and you’d 
expect him to be a weak-minded sort of fellow, 
that would sell tape behind a counter, and write 
poetry in the evenings. But Smithers happened 
to be the champion middle-weight fighter of the 
United States. Perhaps your friend’s name is 
Smithers, too. You needn’t think that because 
she helped you to fight the Turks that couldn’t 
be her name.” 

“ I can only say,” replied Drewitt, “ that I 
can not conceive the possibility that her name is 
Smithers. I can’t give you any reason for it, but 
I am sure of what I say.” 

“ Well, well! Have it your own way. We’ll 
have that passenger list some time this evening, 
and then you can select a woman with a name 
that suits you. In the meanwhile we’ll look up 
that French boat that went ashore. We want to 
do this job thoroughly.” 

At the French Messageries office the clerk in 
charge was at first disposed to deny that any 
French steamer ever went ashore anywhere. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


169 


Confronted with the testimony of the canal offi- 
cials to the effect that a Messageries steamer had 
grounded in the canal on the nineteenth of the 
preceding month, he reluctantly admitted the 
fact, but pleaded that she had not remained 
ashore more than ten minutes. Her name was 
the Philippe Auguste, of that there could be 
no doubt, but he wished to observe that an 
English ship, by the name of the Victoria, had re- 
cently been sunk in spite of the fact that she was 
named after the English Queen. The Philippe 
Auguste had sailed direct from Marseilles to Port 
Said, and had taken on board no passengers at the 
latter place. There would have been no room for 
them, for the French boats were so admirable 
that they were always crowded — not, of course, 
to an uncomfortable extent — on leaving Mar- 
seilles. 

“ So,” said Gallegher, as the interview came 
to an end, ‘‘ we’ve made it pretty sure that your 
friend wasn’t on board the French boat. She 
seems to have been a woman of particular good 
sense, and naturally she wouldn’t trust herself 
with Frenchmen. I vote for following the Eng- 
lish boat, and if it don’t come to anything, it will 
be time enough to hunt up the Frenchmen.” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


170 

Late that evening the telegram from Brindisi 
arrived, and was eagerly received on board the 
yacht. From it Drewitt learned that four ladies 
unaccompanied by husbands came on board the 
Afghan at Brindisi. All four were booked for 
Sydney. 

'' Now, which do you calculate was your 
friend? ” asked Gallegher. “ If we’re chasing a 
widow she may be either Mrs. Randolph or Mrs. 
Carey. If she’s a single woman she may be Miss 
Craddock or Miss Smith. I suppose you won’t 
take to the notion of Smith.” 

“ The simple fact is,” said Drewitt wearily, 
that we can tell absolutely nothing by merely 
reading the names of these people. The only 
thing we can do is to go to Sydney and try to 
follow each one of the four women that came 
on board at Brindisi, until we find the one of 
whom we’re in search.” 

“ That sounds like good sense,” said Galle- 
gher. We’ll be through taking in coal before 
morning, and the first minute we can enter the 
canal we’ll start. Don’t you be discouraged. I 
consider that we’ve done a good stroke of work 
to-day. We’ve found that your friend joined the 
steamer at Brindisi; that she was on her way to 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


17I 

Sydney, and that her name was either Randolph, 
Carey, Craddock, or Smith — that is if you don’t 
kick at the name of Smith. We’ll go to Sydney, 
and interview every one of these four women, 
and we’re dead sure to find your friend. Now if 
you’ll take my advice you’ll turn in. Your nerves 
seem to me to be getting a little shaky, and that 
ain’t going to be of any help to you. Good night, 
and don’t you wake up till we’ve got a good 
many miles on the way to Suez.” 


12 


CHAPTER VI 


The journey through the Red Sea was un- 
eventful. The weather was fine and the heat 
nearly unendurable. The view of Mount Sinai 
aroused a languid interest in the millionaire, 
who persisted in confounding it with Mount 
Ararat, and claimed that Noah showed lack of 
judgment in landing among the desolate moun- 
tains of Asia, instead of the broad prairies of 
Illinois. 

It’s my opinion,” he remarked, ‘‘ that man- 
kind never had a fair show, owing to Noah’s 
want of savvey. If he’d landed in the State of 
Illinois, his descendants would have had wheat, 
and whisky, and all the necessaries of life, by do- 
ing a reasonable amount of work. Instead of 
that he starts his new world in the most miserable 
country on the face of the earth, where people 
can’t get enough to eat unless they steal it from 
other people. Nine-tenths of all the trouble 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


173 

mankind has had has been owing to Noah's land- 
ing on that mountain yonder.” 

“ Mr. Gallegher,” said Mrs. Roberts severely, 
a man who doesn't know the difference be- 
tween Mount Sinai and Mount Ararat has no 
right to speak of such sacred things.” 

“ All right,” returned the unruffled million- 
aire. “ I ain’t very strong in these sort of things, 
but now you speak of Mount Sinai, I remember 
all about Moses and Aaron and the rest of it. 
Moses was the first boss I ever heard of, and he 
was a mighty good one. I’ve always had a great 
respect for Moses, though if I’d been in his place 
I’d have captured the government of Egypt, and 
saved all the trouble of marching through the 
Red Sea, and starving in the wilderness.” 

Drewitt took little interest in Mount Sinai. 
He was counting the hours until he should reach 
Sydney. He had not the slightest doubt that he 
would succeed in finding the woman whom he 
loved. Had she not said that her love should last 
forever? Had they not both miraculously es- 
caped death? Had not the photograph that had 
changed a dream into a reality been sent to him 
by a higher Power— as Miss Wynne would say? 
And then the memory of Miss Wynne, of her un- 


174 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


selfish devotion to his interests, and her true 
saintliness came back to him, and he felt that 
whatever else might happen she would be his 
friend for life. 

Drewitt’s fellow passengers, with the excep- 
tion of Gallegher, found themselves disappointed 
in him. Miss Roberts tried in vain to teach him 
the elements of flirtation and finally abandoned 
the effort, informing her mother that nothing 
but the real thing would ever wake up that stupid 
young Englishman. The doctor tried to con- 
verse with him, but Drewitt’s thoughts were so 
far away, that he heard little that was said to him, 
and frequently failed to answer the doctor’s ques- 
tions. Even the millionaire, to whom Drewitt 
felt bound by ties of gratitude, and for whom he 
had a warm and sincere liking, could rarely in- 
duce him to talk. The two were much together, 
but it was Gallegher who talked, and Drewitt 
who feigned to listen. 

Although it was wearisome to be compelled 
to hear the American’s endless gossip, Drewitt 
found encouragement in his companion’s fixed 
determination to succeed in the search which the 
two had undertaken. 

‘‘ You may say,” remarked Gallegher one 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


175 


day, “ that we’re looking for a needle in a hay- 
stack, and I’ll allow that the world’s a middling 
big haystack. But I’ve a mighty poor opinion 
of a man who couldn’t find a needle in a haystack 
if he knew it was there. All he’d have to do 
would be to sit down alongside of the haystack 
and pick out every bit of hay in it. It would take 
time, but in the end he would be bound to come 
across the needle. Now we know our needle 
went to Sydney. We can find what we’re look- 
ing for if we stick to it. All we want is patience 
and money. I’ve got the money and you’ll have 
to have the patience. Barring accidents, such as 
shipwreck and dying, and all that sort of thing, 
we’re as certain to find that woman as the sun is 
to rise.” 

“ You are awfully good to be patient with 
me,” said Drewitt. I know what a deadly un- 
interesting companion I am.” 

“ That’s a fact, young man. You’re about as 
lively as a deaf and dumb man would be, pro- 
vided he had something depressing on his mind. 
Considering the prospect you’ve got before you, 
I don’t see why you don’t brace up and enjoy life. 
If I was going to see a woman that I was fond of, 
this yacht couldn’t hold me; I’d make things so 


176 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


lively that you’d take me for a professional luna- 
tic. Though, to tell the truth, lunatics ain’t so 
lively as you might think. Speaking of lunatics, 
did I ever tell you how we carried Illinois for Bill 
Sampson the time he was running for Governor? 
I knew pretty well that the Republicans would 
have a majority of about twenty or thirty in our 
town, and the thing was bound to be close in the 
rest of the State, that Sampson stood to be de- 
feated by that many votes. The worst of it was 
that there wasn’t any way of rectifying things, for 
we had a new style of ballot-box that year that 
couldn’t be tampered with, no matter how anx- 
ious you might be to see justice and order prevail. 
All of a sudden I thought of the lunatic asylum 
where there were over a hundred able-bodied 
male lunatics. I hired a lot of carriages and drove 
out to the asylum and brought in every lunatic, 
and voted him for the Democratic ticket. You 
see, the doctor in charge was an old friend of 
mine, who owed his appointment to me, and 
when I offered him ten dollars a head for his luna- 
tics he naturally took it and was thankful. They 
were the most quiet and biddable crowd I ever 
took to the polls, and their votes elected Bill 
Sampson by a majority of seventy-four. I don’t 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


177 


mind saying that if all voters were professional 
lunatics, whose votes could be had at a reasonable 
rate, governing a country would be a good sight 
easier job than it is at present/’ 

“ I’ve been a brute since we left Venice,” 
said Drewitt, regretfully. “ I promise you that 
I’ll do my best hereafter to act a little less as if I 
were going to a funeral.” 

“ Don’t say another word. All I want is to 
see you enjoying yourself, but if you don’t brace 
up a little it will begin to look as if I was the one 
who was anxious to find your friend, and you 
were a divorced man being dragged back to your 
late wife.” 

Drewitt honestly strove to make himself, in 
appearance at least, careless and happy. He even 
resumed the abandoned lessons in flirtation, as 
Miss Roberts persisted in calling the ordinary 
social intercourse which took place between 
them. When the yacht passed into the Indian 
Ocean and left the hot breath of the land behind 
he found that his spirits rose; and Miss Roberts 
informed her mother that he was not such a fool 
as he looked, and that she hoped to make some- 
thing of him before the voyage should come to 
an end. 


178 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Gallegher had informed his passengers that 
the yacht was bound to Sydney, and the an- 
nouncement had been received with indifference, 
except by Mrs. Roberts, who insisted that Aus- 
tralia was inhabited exclusively by English con- 
victs, and that she had never heard that there 
was such a thing as a good hotel there. Mr. 
Cumnor, the naturalist, however, reassured her, 
for he knew Sydney well, and his reminiscences 
of the leading hotel satisfied Mrs. Roberts that 
Australia might prove to be tolerable. 

Cumnor mingled little with the other passen- 
gers. He was engaged in writing a book, and 
spent most of his time in his cabin. Toward 
evening he came on deck for a solitary walk, 
and although there was nothing harsh in the 
man's serious face, no one seemed to care to 
accost him. Drewitt noticed the peculiar elas- 
ticity and softness of his walk. There was a 
feline suggestion of steely muscles and padded 
feet about it. He felt sure that Cumnor pos- 
sessed exceptional physical strength, and that 
his constitution had been hardened and tem- 
pered, rather than weakened, by his residence in 
Africa. 

One evening, at the end of dinner, the ship's 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


179 


cat slunk through the cabin, and was immediate- 
ly noticed by Cumnor. 

“ That’s our regular cat,” said Gallegher, 
‘‘ but he’s mutinous. He’s about as wild as a 
young tiger, and I don’t believe that even the 
steward, who feeds him, has ever been able to 
catch him.” 

'' I will catch him,” said Cumnor. He mewed 
in a low tone to the cat. The animal stopped 
and looked at him as if startled. Cumnor mewed 
again, and the cat answering him, came toward 
him, and leaped on the table nearly in front of 
him. Again Cumnor mewed, and the cat, 
stretching its body to its utmost length, touched 
its nose to the man’s face. Then, as if entirely 
assured as to Cumnor’s pacific intentions, the cat 
sprang on his shoulder, and crouching down, be- 
gan to purr with every appearance of perfect con- 
tentment. 

“ That’s queer,” exclaimed the doctor. “ I 
wish you’d tell me how you gained the beast’s 
confidence. I didn’t know that you spoke the 
cat language, but I see you do.” 

Cumnor smiled. '‘It’s a very simple lan- 
guage,” he said; " one of the most simple of all 
the feline languages.” 


i8o 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


‘‘ Do you really mean, Mr. Cumnor, that 
mewing is a language? ” asked Mrs. Roberts. 

It is not precisely a language. It corre- 
sponds to the signs that we make with our hands. 
The real language of animals is purely a language 
of smell.’’ 

I don’t quite understand,” said the doctor. 

It is not difficult to understand. We con- 
verse by means of sounds, to which we have grad- 
ually come to attach ideas. The animals con- 
verse by means of smells. The one method is 
quite as reasonable as the other, only we have 
lost the sense of smell to such an extent that 
what little of it remains to us is almost entirely 
useless. The animals, on the other hand, have 
cultivated it, until it is the one of their senses 
which is the most comprehensive and elastic.” 

“ Do you actually mean to say,” demanded 
the doctor, “ that all animals have a language, 
and can talk to one another? ” 

'' I do,” replied Cumnor. “ I do not know 
many animal languages, but those that I do know 
are as much entitled to be called languages as are 
German and French. They are, of course, very 
limited in their vocabularies, but they are true 
languages, and scientific men could learn to un- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


l8l 

derstand them if they would condescend to for- 
get their prejudices. There are many things to 
be learned from the niggers of the West Coast 
that many a scientific man does not dream of; 
but it is very seldom that a civilized white 
man will condescend to learn from the naked 
savage.” 

“ I knew you had lived on the West Coast/’ 
said the doctor. “ Do you know anything of the 
secret societies of the negroes? I have read 
some interesting things about them.” 

Did you ever read of the Leopard So- 
ciety? ” asked Cumnor. 

“ Never,” said the doctor. 

“ It’s the chief society in the Niger region, 
where I was stationed. Its members are a sort of 
aristocracy among the niggers, for the reason 
that those who are not members are terribly 
afraid of those who are. And they have good 
reason to be, though, of course, white men say 
that it is all rubbish.” 

“What is all rubbish? The society, or the 
fears of the other negroes? ” 

“ Both. What would you say if a nigger told 
you that he had the power of changing himself 
into a leopard of the jungle? ” 


i 82 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


'' I should say he lied/' exclaimed the mil- 
lionaire. 

Of course you would, but if you lived three 
or four years among the niggers, and kept your 
eyes open, perhaps you would begin to doubt 
whether white men possess all the knowledge 
that there is. See here, if you wish. I’ll tell you a 
story. It’s a true one, and if you can explain it 
in what you would call a rational way, I should 
like to have you do it. 

“ I was nearly three years in charge of a trad- 
ing station up the Niger. There was a ware- 
house, two other houses, and a few native huts. 
That was all there was of the station, except fever 
and the niggers. I had about a dozen of the latter 
under me, and they did all the work there was to 
be done, and did it fairly well. Their head man, 
Dan we used to call him, was strong enough to 
have made his fortune in a circus, and what was 
curious, he never drank anything. With him to 
back me, we kept spirits away from the niggers 
and consequently we never had any trouble with 
them. Dan was a Mohammedan of sorts. That 
is, he had tacked a lot of Mohammedan doctrines 
on to his native fetichism, and made up a com- 
bined religion that, like mixed liquors, was 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


183 


stronger than either would have been alone. He 
had a wife, of whom he was tremendously jealous, 
and the other niggers understood that if any one 
of them should be caught near Dan’s hut, he 
would die a particularly unpleasant death. 

“ Once a month a steamer used to come up 
the river, and land any supplies that the station 
needed. Then she went on farther up, and in a 
fortnight stopped at the station again on her way 
home. At the time of which I am speaking, I 
was more anxious than usual to see this steamer, 
for she was to bring out my successor, and when 
he did arrive, I welcomed him as if he had been 
my dearest friend, instead of an unprepossessing 
stranger. 

“ He was a man of about thirty — a University 
man, who had evidently come to grief, and the 
West Coast, through too much whisky. There 
was no mistaking the man’s complexion and 
general appearance, although he was perfectly 
sober the day he landed, and so far as I know 
drank nothing during the week or ten days I was 
with him. He came ashore with a photographic 
camera under his arm, and he began to photo- 
graph things right and left before he had been 
twenty-four hours ashore. 


1 84 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ I ought to have warned him that, accord- 
ing to Dan^s private brand of religion, it was a 
deadly sin to be photographed. I suppose he got 
this doctrine from the Koran. Anyway, he held 
fast to it, as I learned, when, in my early days at 
the station, I wanted to make a sketch of his wife. 
I ought to have warned Burke that it wouldn’t do 
to photograph the wife of a jealous man, who 
considered photography a sin, but, somehow, I 
forgot it. You forget things easily when the 
thermometer is a hundred and twenty in the 
shade. Of course, Burke, as soon as he accident- 
ally got a glimpse of Dan’s wife, determined to 
get her photograph; and the upshot was that one 
afternoon I heard a tremendous row, and going 
out to see what was the matter, I found that 
Burke had knocked Dan down, and was stand- 
ing over him with a revolver, while about a 
dozen niggers were dancing and yelling around 
him. Dan had caught Burke at the door of 
his hut trying to induce his wife to come out 
and be photographed; and he tried to snatch 
the camera away and break it over Burke’s 
head. The nigger didn’t understand boxing, 
and the Englishman did, so Dan found him- 
self helpless on the ground, where he stopped 


DREWITT’S DREAM 1 85 

until I came up and told him he was under 
arrest. 

“ Of course, I knew that Burke was in the 
wrong, and I secretly sympathized with Dan, but 
in the circumstances discipline would have been 
at an end if I hadn’t backed the white man. I 
took Dan to the lock-up cell in the warehouse, 
and left him there. He went quietly enough with 
me, and I intended to let him loose in the morn- 
ing, with a good tongue lashing on the blas- 
phemy of any attack by a nigger on the sacred 
person of a white man. 

“ The cell was a bare room, ten feet by five, 
with a single window twelve feet above the floor, 
and a stout door that you couldn’t break down 
without artillery or dynamite. There was only 
one key, and I kept that in my pocket. The 
window was, as I said, out of reach of any one in 
the cell, and a small boy would have had difflculty 
in squeezing through it, even if he could have 
reached it. 

“ That evening I talked plainly to Burke. I 
told him that he had begun badly by gaining the 
ill-will of the best and most influential man 
among the niggers. 

‘ You can’t do very much without him,’ I 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


1 86 

said, ' and if he has made up his mind to get 
even with you for that knock-down blow, he will 
do it in spite of anything you can do/ 

“ ‘ Fm not afraid of any nigger,^ said Burke, 
sulkily, ‘ no matter how big and strong he is. 
If he gives me any of his impudence, Fll put a 
revolver bullet into him.' 

“ ‘ I don’t think he will be impudent,’ I re- 
plied. ‘ It would simplify matters very much if 
he would. He will probably apologize to you 
to-morrow morning, and he will be as quiet as 
a lamb for perhaps a month to come. But all 
the same, if I were you, I would never leave my 
revolver at home, and I would never stir out 
of doors after dark. More than this, every 
time you go into or near the bush, look out for 
leopards.’ 

' What’s the connection between this nigger 
and leopards? ’ asked Burke. 

‘ Just this,’ said I. ‘ Dan happens to be a 
leading man in the Leopard secret society — the 
Kafong they call it. Haven’t you noticed the 
tattooed mark on his breast? That’s the sign of 
the society, and there are two other niggers 
among our boys that have the same mark. It 
isn’t healthy to quarrel with a member of the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 1 37 

Leopard Society, and I’m afraid you’ll find it 
out.’ 

Burke said he wasn’t afraid of all the nig- 
gers in Africa, and that I needn’t feel in the least 
uneasy about him. I don’t doubt that the man 
meant what he said. He was brave enough; I 
rather think he was more or less sick of life, and 
a man who doesn’t care to live doesn’t take the 
trouble to be afraid of things. 

The next morning I went early to the ware- 
house, and unlocked Dan’s cell, intending to 
give him his freedom. As I opened the door, a 
leopard sprang out, clean over my head, and 
bolted into the bush. The cell was empty. 

‘‘ Now, take notice that as I had the only key 
nobody but I could have opened the door of that 
cell after I had locked it. Nobody could get in 
or out of the window. The cell was fcmpty when 
I put Dan into it. Will you please to explain 
how the leopard came to be in the cell in the 
morning, and what had become of Dan? ” 

“ That’s an easy one,” said Gallegher. The 
leopard climbed in at the window and made a 
meal of your nigger. Being particularly hungry 
he didn’t leave any broken meat. That’s all there 

is to the story.” 

13 


i88 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ The leopard could hardly have devoured 
Dan without leaving blood-stains on the floor. 
Then, again, a leopard, no matter how hungry 
he might have been, if he had eaten a nigger 
bigger than himself, could hardly have jumped 
over my head after such a meal. Finally, there is 
one little fact that upsets your theory, Mr. Galle- 
gher. The day after I let that leopard out of the 
cell Dan turned up among the other men in the 
morning and went to work as usual.^^ 

How do you explain the mystery? ” asked 
the doctor. 

“ I don^t try to explain it. I merely tell you 
of it, as a proof that there are things in Africa 
which are beyond explanation by any white 
man.” 

“ Is that all of the story? ” asked Drewitt. 

'' By no means. The morning Dan returned 
Burke told me that he had been kept awake all 
night by a prowling leopard. He had shut and 
fastened his doors and windows, as a precaution 
against malaria, and about midnight he was awak- 
ened by the noise of some one trying one window 
after another. He thought at the time that the 
noise was made by some animal, and when he 
cautiously looked out of a window, he found he 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


189 


was right. Two leopards were sniffing and claw- 
ing at the doors and windows, going from one to 
another as regularly as if they were human bur- 
glars. They .never whined nor sneezed. They 
didn’t make a sound, except when their paws 
softly passed over the woodwork or they sniffed 
carefully at the fastenings. 

“ Burke owned that he didn’t like it. He got 
his rifle and tried to get a shot at the beasts, but 
either they winded him or the slight noise he 
made in swinging open a window alarmed them, 
and they were off like a shot. He waited all night 
for them to return, but saw nothing more of 
them. 

“ I went over to his house with him, and saw 
the prints of claws on the paint of a door, and 
the leopard tracks in the dust in front of the 
house. I didn’t tell Burke what I thought and 
feared. I merely warned him to keep a sharp 
lookout by day as well as at night, and to keep 
away from the bush. I supposed that he would 
be comparatively safe in the daytime if he kept 
in the neighbourhood of the station, and espe- 
cially if Dan was busy at his ordinary work. If I 
had told what I really believed, he would have 
thought me stark crazy. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


190 

“ Things went on in pretty nearly the same 
way for the next week. Burke couldn’t sleep on 
account of the leopards. Either they were 
sniffing around his house or he fancied that they 
were. He would get up a dozen times in the 
course of the night and try to get a shot at them, 
but if they were there they kept out of sight. 
They got on his nerves, which were shattered by 
drink, and he couldn’t think of anything else. I 
will give him the credit of saying that he didn’t 
try to brace himself up with brandy, which is 
what most men would have done in his place. 
The poor devil was evidently fighting hard 
against the drink, and the battle did him credit. 
And he wasn’t by any means in a funk. He 
talked leopard, and thought leopard, and dreamed 
leopard, but it couldn’t be said he was frightened. 
Burke was intended to be a man, and if he had 
run straight he would have been one. 

One afternoon, when the men knocked off 
work, Dan came to me and asked for a day’s holi- 
day. He said that he wanted to go several miles 
into the interior to visit a relation, but that he 
would only be gone one day. I said ‘ No,’ not 
because I wasn’t quite willing that he should have 
his holiday, but because I feared that his holiday 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


I9I 

might not prove healthy for Burke. Generally, 
the man minded me implicitly, but this time he 
said, ‘ Very well, sir,’ and the next morning was 
missing. 

“ I went straight over to Burke’s quarters, 
and told him not to stir outside of the door that 
day, and to keep his doors and windows shut. 
In reply he told me to mind my own business. 
He said he didn’t propose to be made a prisoner 
on account of my nerves, and recommended me 
to take some bromide. Considering that my 
nerves were all right, and his were going to 
smash, this was pretty cool. However, I didn’t 
tell him so. I merely warned him again that from 
what I had heard of the niggers and their ways, it 
would be as much as his life was worth to show 
himself in the open unless he was with me; but 
he wouldn’t be convinced, and was so unpleasant 
that I left him. 

Dan’s failure to appear worried me. I knew 
that he would never disobey me except under the 
influence of some powerful motive, and in the 
present case I judged that his motive was re- 
venge for the affront that Burke had put on him. 
I made up my mind that if the two were alive and 
at the station when the steamer came down the 


192 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


river I would induce the captain to kidnap one of 
them — I didn’t care which — and carry him to the 
Canaries. I didn’t want to spend another three 
months on the coast, which I should have to do if 
Burke should leave, but I was ready to do almost 
anything to prevent the tragedy which I foresaw 
would happen if Burke and Dan were to be left 
together. I hadn’t been three years in the Delta 
of the Niger for nothing. I had learned enough 
about the ways of the natives to be mightily 
afraid of them. 

That afternoon, when the sun was beginning 
to sink, Burke came out of his house with his rifle 
in the hollow of his arm. He walked in the direc- 
tion of the bush, which came down to within a 
quarter of a mile of the station. I called to him 
to come back, but he only laughed. I couldn’t 
very well arrest him, as he was a white man, and 
had really done nothing that he hadn’t a right to 
do. There was nothing for it but to let him go 
where he chose, and either to follow him or to 
wash my hands of him. I followed him, keeping 
about fifty yards in the rear. We were walking 
along the bank of the river; the clearing, where 
the station stood, was about a quarter of a mile 
long and say two hundred yards wide, measuring 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


193 


from the river, and the three sides of it were 
bounded by the thick bush. Just as Burke had 
reached the shadow of the bush and was on the 
point of entering it by the narrow path that led to 
the nearest native town, two leopards sprang out 
at him. I heard his rifle crack, and saw the smoke 
of it, and then I saw that Burke was down and 
the beasts were either on him or close by his 
side. 

“ By the time I had crept up near enough to 
risk a shot without fear of hitting the man, I saw 
that one of the leopards was dead. Burke had 
evidently shot him while the beast was in the 
very act of springing, and, taking all things into 
consideration, it was an amazingly good shot. 
The other leopard was crouched on Burke^s 
body, and when he saw me he rose up and made 
off into the bush. I fired and I think I hit him, 
but I could not be sure of it. I found Burke 
quite dead. The leopard had broken his neck, 
probably with a blow of the paw. The body was 
mauled considerably about the legs by the leop- 
ard’s claws, but, so far as I could decide, the man 
must have been killed almost instantly, and 
probably had felt little or no pain. 

We buried Burke where half a dozen of his 


194 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


— and my — predecessors had been buried, and in 
the course of the next three months another man 
was sent out to take his place, and I was able to 
go home.” 

“ Is that all? ” asked the doctor. 

“ That is all, so far as Burke was concerned,” 
replied Cumnor. 

“ And did the missing nigger ever come 
back? ” 

Dan? Oh, yes! He came back the next 
day, with his right arm bandaged. He said he 
had accidentally shot himself in the arm with a 
gun belonging to one of the natives whom he 
had met in the bush. I didn’t contradict him. It 
would have been of no use.” 

“ It’s an odd story,” said the doctor, “ and I 
confess there are a lot of curious coincidences in 
it. Still, I don’t take any stock in your theory 
that the nigger, Dan, could turn himself into a 
leopard.” 

“ Of course you don’t,” said Cumnor, I 
didn’t suppose you would. There are some 
things that are too hard for any white man to be- 
lieve; but that doesn’t prove that they are not 
true.” 

‘‘ And what do you think of it? ” asked Galle- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


195 

gher. “ Do you believe that Dan was the 
leopard? ” 

“ Oh! I believe nothing,” replied Cumnor. 
“ I simply don’t disbelieve. It’s a state of mind 
that you naturally fall into when you have lived 
on the West Coast with no one but niggers with- 
in five hundred miles of you. You begin by 
thinking the nigger is the most ignorant brute 
on the face of the earth, you end by being ready 
to believe almost anything that he tells you. 
Now, I’ll say ‘ Good night,’ for if there is anything 
that I believe in with all my heart and soul, it is 
tjiat the man who wants to live long in spite of 
fever and sunstroke, should go to bed early.” 

'' What do you make of that story? ” asked 
the doctor, after Cumnor had slipped away with 
his noiseless tread. 

Make of it? ” exclaimed the millionaire. “ I 
think he was trying to see how much he could 
make you swallow. He’s a good fellow and an 
entertaining companion, and unless I’m mightily 
mistaken, he is one of the best liars in this part of 
the globe. And I’m a judge of liars, for I’ve been 
an active politician for thirty years.” 

Fine weather followed the yacht across the 
Indian Ocean, through the archipelago of Ma- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


196 

lacca, and into the vast Pacific, but the captain 
was unwilling to promise a continuance of the 
fine weather. It was the time of year when hur- 
ricanes are to be looked for in the Pacific south 
of the equator, and the captain insisted that the 
persistent fineness of the weather meant mischief. 

‘‘ I don’t like it,” he said one day. There 
hasn’t been a cloud in the sky for the last six 
days. This sort of thing is a weather-breeder. 
It won’t last, and when it does change we shall 
catch it.” 

Gallegher ridiculed this view, and asserted 
that it was simply another way of saying that 
nothing could last forever. However, one morn- 
ing the captain rather triumphantly informed him 
that the glass was curiously unsteady — falling 
and rising again, without the deliberation which 
should characterize the movements of a well- 
regulated barometer that knows its own mind. 

‘‘We shall have a breeze before twenty-four 
hours are over,” said he, “ and then you’ll find 
I was right when I said that the fine weather was 
only a weather-breeder.” 

Toward night the wind gradually freshened 
from the westward, and by midnight was blow- 
ing a gale. The yacht was running almost di- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


197 


rectly before it, and driven as she was, at her 
highest speed, the racing of the screw, when the 
stern was thrown out of the water, shook her 
from stem to stern, much as a terrier would shake 
a cat. Her speed kept her well ahead of the fol- 
lowing seas, but forward she was very wet and 
she rolled far more than was pleasant. Drewitt 
stayed on deck until long after midnight, and 
when he went below, and listened to the straining 
of the vessel, he heartily wished that the engineer 
would see the wisdom of lessening speed. Anx- 
ious as he was to reach Sydney, he felt that it 
would be folly to imperil the safety of the yacht 
by pressing her too heavily in adverse weather. 

The morning broke with a gray and greasy 
sky. Vast masses of clouds were flying across 
the heavens, their rugged edges showing the 
reckless haste which had seized them. The 
yacht’s mastheads made wide and wild circles 
against the gray sky. On deck everything that 
could possibly get adrift had been carefully lashed 
down. No one was visible, except the quarter- 
master at the wheel, the captain on the bridge, 
and the lookout who kept him company, since it 
was impossible for a man to live on the forecastle 
head. Clad in his oilskins, the captain leaned 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


198 

against the tarpaulin shield that had been rigged 
at one end of the bridge to protect him from the 
driving spray and the merciless wind, watching 
the boiling seas through which the vessel was 
driving. As yet the seas were not exceptionally 
heavy, but they were confused and conical. They 
bore a marked resemblance to water boiling in a 
pot, and to Drewitt, who had never seen a tem- 
pest at sea, except on the Atlantic, the contrast 
between the long, mountainous swells rolling 
steadily and relentlessly on their way, was strong- 
ly in contrast with the wild, confused seas that 
were breaking all around him. 

At times the wind shrieked through the rig- 
ging and among the spars, and at others kept 
up a low moan. Drewitt clung closely to the 
main rigging and wondered at the speed with 
which the vessel was still driven. Presently the 
engineer put his head out of the engine-room 
companion-way and swept the quarter-deck with 
an anxious look. 

“ Mr. Gallegher isn’t on deck yet? ” he asked, 
as he saw Drewitt. 

‘‘ He is still asleep, I fancy,” Drewitt replied. 
“ Shall I call him? ” 

‘‘ No, thanks, I won’t disturb him. Only the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


199 

sooner he comes on deck and tells me to slow 
her down the better it will be for the hooker/’ 

I thought you were driving her rather 
hard,” said Drewitt. 

Driving her! I wouldn’t drive a donkey 
the way we’ve been driving her all night if I had 
my way. However, Mr. Gallegher gave me strict 
orders not to slow down for anything. The 
yacht belongs to him, and I’ve no business but 
to obey the orders I get. There he is. Now we’ll 
see if he’s had enough of this sort of thing.” 

The millionaire made his unsteady way to 
where Drewitt and the engineer were con- 
versing. 

‘‘ Good morning,” said Drewitt. I was 
hoping you would come on deck.” 

“ Anything gone wrong? ” asked Gallegher. 

“ Nothing yet, sir,” said the engineer, ‘‘ but it 
is my duty to say that if those engines belonged 
to me, I’d slow them down a bit. The screw is 
racing for all it’s worth, and if we break our shaft 
or throw off our propeller it would be nasty busi- 
ness in this weather.” 

“ Slow down whenever you judge it to be 
necessary,” said the millionaire. “ I don’t pre- 
tend to know how to boss a steam engine, and I 


200 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


calculated that when I told you I wanted to get 
to Sydney in double-quick time, and wanted 
you to get all you could out of the engine, 
you’d use your judgment about carrying out the 
order.” 

'' Very good, sir,” said the engineer. ‘‘ I’ll 
slow her a few revolutions, and you’ll find that 
she will be all the more comfortable for it.” 

“ Next to a man who never obeys orders,” 
remarked Gallegher, as the engineer turned to 
descend to the engine-room, is the man who 
never disobeys. If a man hasn’t sense enough to 
know when to disobey, he hasn’t sense enough 
to be worth his salt. I can give you an instance 
in point. Along in the campaign in 1884 ” 

But the millionaire’s story was fated never 
to be finished. There was a sudden crash of 
broken and jangling metal in the depths of the 
yacht. A cloud of steam burst up through the 
engine-room skylight and from the roaring es- 
cape pipe. The throb of the screw was silent, and 
with the sudden cessation of the impulse of the 
machinery a sombre silence seemed to fall on 
everything. 

Something seems to have smashed up 
down below,” said Gallegher. I calculate it 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


201 


must be the engine, and I don’t mind saying that 
it has taken a most inconvenient time for it.” 

At that moment the engineer again emerged 
from the companion-way, and made his way to- 
ward the bridge, clinging to the life lines that 
had been rove since midnight at the side of the 
deck-house. 

“ What’s the matter, Mr. Scott? ” shouted 
Gallegher, as the engineer passed him without 
stopping to speak. 

“ Shaft’s broke, sir, and engine gone to hell,” 
was the condensed answer. 

In that case,” said the millionaire to Drew- 
itt, “ we’d better get below and have some break- 
fast. It ain’t our business to repair machinery, 
and it looks to me as if it was going to be pretty 
wet up here.” As he spoke the yacht, which, 
with the loss of steerage way, had fallen off with 
her broadside to the wind, shipped a sea amid- 
ships, which surged across the deck and wet Gal- 
legher and his companion to the waist. At the 
same moment they heard the captain shouting to 
them unintelligibly from the bridge, with the evi- 
dent purpose of urging them to go below. 

Drewitt accompanied the American to the 
companion-way, and then yielding to curiosity. 


202 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


went forward to the bridge to listen to the collo- 
quy between the captain and the engineer. 

The engineer was just saying that when the 
shaft broke the engine ran away and wrecked 
itself. 

Any water coming in through the tunnel? 
asked the captain. 

“ No, sir. She’s tight enough for the pres- 
ent, but I expect we’ll have water coming down 
the funnel before long, if it can’t get in by any 
easier road.” 

Get steam on the donkey at once,” said the 
captain. “We may have to use the pumps in a 
hurry. There’s no chance of your being able to 
repair her, I suppose, while this weather lasts? ” 

“ There’s no chance of repairing her in any 
weather, short of Sydney, or some other port 
where there’s a machine shop, and a foundry, and 
a dry dock. She made just the most everlasting 
world without end damned complete smash-up 
that you ever saw.” 

“ Very well. Make everything snug down 
below, and when we get sail on her and heave 
her to, we’ll all turn in and sleep.” 

An effort was at once made to get some after- 
sail on the yacht, but the moment the main try- 


DREVVITT’S DREAM 


203 


sail was loosed it blew into ribbons. A long de- 
lay occurred before a new sail could be got up 
from the sail-room and bent. Meanwhile the sea 
was rising, and the heavy rolling of the yacht 
made work extremely difficult as well as danger- 
ous. When at last the trysail was bent it proved 
to be useless. The long, narrow vessel refused to 
bring her head to the wind. After this had be- 
come evident the sail was taken in, and the jib 
was run up. The yacht paid rapidly off, and 
when she was once more before tlie wind the 
square foretopsail was set close-reefed, and the 
vessel raced off before the gale. 

The passengers assembled for breakfast. 
They were not in aggressively good spirits. The 
women were obviously frightened, but they 
showed the bravery of their sex in not permitting 
their fright to affect their conduct. They did 
not speak of the storm, except when speaking of 
the discomforts of the night. They avoided any 
mention of the future. Doubtless they one and 
all imagined that they were in imminent peril, 
but they showed their consciousness of danger 
only by their pale cheeks and their more subdued 
manner. 

Gallegher was as cheerful as if nothing had 
14 


204 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


happened. It is true that he had no experience 
of the sea, and was ignorant of the danger in 
which the vessel was placed; but the situation 
was one which might well have alarmed him. 
The yacht was labouring heavily, and the crash of 
the seas that she took in from time to time over 
the bows shook her from stem to stern. 

‘‘ This don’t look much like making Sydney 
in a hurry, does it? ” said Gallegher. However, 
we’ll get there some of these days, and I don’t 
consider,” he added, lowering his voice, and 
speaking almost in Drewitt’s ear, “ that this’ll 
hinder us in our search. We’re bound to succeed, 
and I shouldn’t wonder if this delay would put us 
right in the way of success. This sort of thing is 
probably a luck-breeder, as the captain might 
say. If good weather brings bad weather, bad 
luck ought to bring good luck. I’m growing 
superstitious over this thing, and if any man 
wants to convince me that we’re going to fail, 
he’ll have to hammer it into me with a crowbar.” 

“ You don’t seem to be much disturbed by 
the storm,” said Drewitt to the doctor’s daugh- 
ter. “ It really seems to me as if you rather en- 
joyed it.” 

“ Enjoy it,” cried the girl, of course I do. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


205 


I’m horribly frightened, but I’ve always wanted 
to see a storm at sea, and I’m glad of the chance 
to see one. I shall expect you to take me on 
deck presently, where I can get a good view 
of it.” 

‘‘ I will take you with pleasure,” said Drew- 
itt, “ but I ought to warn you that there will be 
a fair chance that we shall be swept overboard.” 

'' In that case we will drown together. How 
beautifully romantic that would be! Just you 
wait a moment till I put on my rubber shoes. I 
don’t want to get my feet wet if I do drown.” 

Drewitt accompanied Miss Roberts on deck 
with many misgivings as to the wisdom of ac- 
ceding to her request. The moment he put his 
head out of the companion-way he was struck by 
the great increase in the fury of the gale. The air 
was dim with the spindrift that lashed his face 
like hail. The sky was darker than before, and 
the sea was wilder. The yacht was running under 
bare poles, for the topsail had blown out of the 
bolt ropes, and only a few streamers fluttered 
from the jack-stay. The yacht was wallowing 
through the sea, shipping tons of water over the 
forecastle head, and occasionally over either mid- 
ship rail. The sight was not an encouraging one. 


2o6 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


Drewitt and Miss Roberts stood in the com- 
panion-way. He had no thought of venturing to 
set foot on the deck, but suddenly the girl said 
pettishly: 

I can’t see anything here. I’m going out 
on deck. Come along and lash me to some- 
thing.” 

Even as she spoke she slipped under his arm, 
and in another moment was clinging to the star- 
board main rigging, and laughingly challenging 
him to follow her. He did so, with the intention 
of bringing her under shelter by main force if it 
should be necessary, but just as he reached her 
side the stern of the yacht sank deeply, and he 
saw, as he glanced backward, a vast mountain of 
water hurrying after her and curling high above 
the deck. 

He tore a rope from a belaying pin and swift- 
ly passed it around the girl and himself. He saw 
the look of wonder in her eyes, as she found her- 
self lashed closely to him. Before she could find 
breath to ask what he meant the sea was upon 
them. It broke over the stern and poured in a 
mighty flood along the deck. The yacht sank 
under it. Nothing of her was visible for a mo- 
ment except the bridge and her spars. Drewitt 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


207 


held the girl close to him with both arms. The 
sea tore at her, but could not break his hold. 
The rope, passed over a belaying pin, held them 
both, but it cut cruelly into his waist. For a few 
seconds the two were completely submerged by 
the sea, but it passed, and the yacht rose and 
shook herself free. He saw the captain, who had 
at last perceived that they were on deck, motion- 
ing them fiercely to go below. As soon as he 
could get his breath Drewitt cast off the rope, 
and dragging the girl after him managed to gain 
the companion-way, which they entered, closing 
the door after them. 

Miss Roberts burst out laughing. “ What a 
figure I must cut in these wet clothes! ” she said, 
as she glanced at her sodden and streaming 
skirts. 

“ We are lucky to escape with our lives,” 
said Drewitt, a little severely. 

Of course,” she returned, “ I owe my life 
to you. That is almost as romantic as drowning 
with you would have been, but on the whole it is 
pleasanter.” 

Drewitt said nothing in reply, except to urge 
the girl to go to her cabin and get into dry 
clothes. 


208 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


“ I don’t suppose you care much about hav- 
ing saved me,” she said presently. You’d 
have been quite as well pleased if I’d gone over- 
board by myself. Now, wouldn’t you? ” 

He looked at her with surprise. Was this a 
new lesson in the art of flirting? 

I am most sincerely glad to have had the 
opportunity to be of use to you,” he said. 

‘'There! there! Don’t talk as if you were 
preaching a sermon. It sounds so dreadfully 
hollow, and I do hate insincerity.” 

“ But I am not insincere,” he urged. “ Do 
you imagine that I am such a brute that I would 
willingly have seen you drown? ” 

She made no answer. She stood looking into 
his eyes, but he could not tell if she saw him. 
Her own eyes were wet with the sea, but he fan- 
cied that he saw wonder and sadness in them. 
Then she said: “Please help me downstairs. I 
feel a little faint.” 

He put his arm around her waist, and her 
head sank on his shoulder as he assisted her down 
the narrow stairway. He could feel the flutter- 
ing of her heart, and knew that she was not sham- 
ming when she said that she was faint. 

When they reached the cabin the girl pulled 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


209 


herself together, and as she released herself from 
his grasp she said softly, “ I am glad it was you 
who saved me. I should so have hated to be 
saved by a horrid sailor.” And she vanished into 
her cabin. 


CHAPTER VII 


The day wore on. Just before noon the cap- 
tain entered the cabin, and removing his oilskins, 
sat down to a biscuit and a cup of coffee. “ I 
haven’t had any breakfast yet,” he observed, 
apologetically. There isn’t a man living 
who could have carried a cup of coffee to the 
bridge this morning without spilling every drop 
of it.” 

“ What’s the prospects, captain? ” asked Gal- 
legher. 

“ Oh, it’s cheerful enough for sailors who 
don’t want to work. Our rudder was smashed a 
few minutes ago, and consequently we haven’t 
any control over the yacht. I’ve had the hatches 
battened down and have sent the men below, 
with the exception of one hand who is asleep by 
this time just inside the companion-way.” 

“ Do you mean to tell me that we are drift- 
ing at the mercy of the winds and the waves, with- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


2II 


out a soul to manage the vessel? ” asked Mrs. 
Roberts indignantly. 

“ There’s the mate on the bridge, and I sup- 
pose he might be said to have a soul, though he 
is a Nova Scotian. And there’s the quarter- 
master inside the companion-way, where a hail 
from the bridge ought to reach him, though it 
probably won’t. There’s no use in risking any 
more lives on deck, considering that we can’t 
have any control over her until the weather 
moderates. We lost three men overboard this 
morning, and we haven’t any more to spare.” 

“ Three men have been drowned ! ” exclaimed 
Mrs. Roberts. '‘How perfectly awful! The 
next thing will be that we shall be drowned our- 
selves.” 

" Oh, we’re safe enough down here,” replied 
the captain. “ The yacht’s perfectly tight, and a 
little rolling won’t hurt anything except the 
crockery. If you feel uneasy I should advise you 
to turn in and get a little sleep. I’m going to 
take forty winks myself, for I’ve been on the 
bridge for twenty-four hours, and I begin to feel 
a little drowsy.” 

" Mr. Gallegher,” exclairried Mrs. Roberts, 
"you’re the proprietor of this ship. Are you 


212 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


willing that the captain should go to sleep while 
we are in such terrible danger? ” 

“ Well, ma’am,’' replied Gallegher, “ I pay 
the captain to know his business, and I calculate 
he does know it. Anyhow, I don’t propose to 
pay him and then to attend to his business myself. 
He’s got a first-class character, and I’m going to 
trust him so long as he’s the captain of the 
Caucus.” 

I really can not see,” interposed Drewitt, 
what the captain or any one else can do by stop- 
ping on the bridge. The engines are disabled 
and the rudder is gone. All that any man could 
do on deck would be to keep a lookout, and the 
mate can certainly do that as well as the captain.” 

“ Then I suppose we shall have to put our 
trust in Providence,” said Mrs. Roberts despair- 
ingly. 

“ Oh, come now,” said Gallegher, I don’t 
think things are quite as bad as that. I guess 
this storm will blow over in a little while, and we 
sha’n’t be so very much the worse for it. If I 
know our engineer, he’s the sort of man who 
could build a brand-new engine out of half a 
dozen iron barrel hoops and a couple of tin cans. 
Don’t you be scared, ma’am. Time enough for 
\ 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


213 

that when the captain gives orders for every man 
to be scared.” 

Mrs. Roberts was not appreciably consoled 
by the millionaire’s remarks. She mournfully 
said that she had made up her mind to be 
drowned, and that she should go at once and 
put on her waterproof cloak so as to be pre- 
pared for the worst. As for Gallegher, she trust- 
ed that time would be given to him to make 
some preparation for death, for nothing was 
clearer than that he needed such preparation. 

“ That’s the way with women,” said Galle- 
gher, as Mrs. Roberts vanished into her cabin. 
“ Nothing that you can say will ever have any 
effect on a woman when once she has made up 
her mind. Mrs. Roberts will be disappointed if 
she isn’t drowned, and we’ll have to pay for her 
disappointment. But what’s the use in being 
worried by anything a woman can say! I never 
let such things worry me, and that’s the reason I 
weigh two hundred and odd pounds, and can di- 
gest wedding-cake as easy as a married man can 
digest soft-boiled eggs.” 

As the yacht was lying in the trough of the 
sea, she rolled heavily and constantly. Galle- 
gher, the doctor, and Drewitt sat on one side of 


214 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


the saloon table, bracing themselves between the 
edge of the table and the back of the seat. The 
crash of the seas that fell on the deck, the ghastly 
rush and gurgle of the water as the sidelights 
rolled under and the sea swirled into the funnel- 
shaped openings, the occasional crash of crock- 
ery, the shriek of the wind in the rigging — which 
had now become unintermittent, and had risen to 
a higher and wilder key — did not encourage con- 
versation. More depressing than the uproar of 
the storm was the unaccustomed silence of the 
engine. It seemed a premonition of the death of 
the ship. Her machinery had ceased to breathe, 
and her fight with the elements was ended. She 
now offered only a passive resistance. Still, 
none, with the exception of Mrs. Roberts, was 
seriously alarmed. The captain and Gallegher 
had imparted their cool courage to the rest of 
the ship’s company. Nevertheless, the day was 
far from being a cheerful one, and when the effort 
to eat a cold dinner had been brought to a pre- 
mature close by the persistent refusal of the food 
to remain on the table, the passengers all went 
to their rooms, and spent the night in the effort 
to keep from rolling out of their berths. 

But in the morning it was found that the wind 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


215 


had perceptibly lessened, and by noon it was 
blowing only a moderate gale, although the sea 
was still tremendously high. A little later the 
wind dropped until it was merely a gentle breeze, 
the sea rapidly went down, and the passengers 
who had ventured once more on deck were greet- 
ed by the sight of land in the dim distance. 

What land is that, captain? ” asked Galle- 

gher. 

“ I couldn’t possibly say,” was the reply. 

Luckily we are drifting so that we shall go 
clear of it; that is, unless we get into a current 
that will set us inshore. If the sun should come 
out and I could get an observation, I could tell 
you where we are, but as it is I couldn’t guess our 
position within three hundred miles.’ 

Are you not going to take us ashore? 
asked Mrs. Roberts. 

Certainly not,” replied the captain. We 
have no use for an island where there isn’t any 
dry dock or any machine shop. As it is, I am 
happy to inform you that you’ll never be any 
nearer that island than you are at this moment.” 

“ You may thank your stars, ma’am,” said 
Gallegher, that we didn’t drift on that island 
in the night. This boat isn’t built for butting 


2i6 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


into Stone walls, and you can see for yourself that 
the sides of that island are about as perpendicular 
as the walls of the Capitol.” 

The yacht was slowly drifting in a southerly 
direction. The jagged outline of the island 
stood out clear and sharp, some fifteen miles to 
the eastward. The sea had so far subsided that 
the carpenter and his gang were busily at work 
making a jury rudder, with which it was hoped 
that the vessel might again be brought under 
control. From the engine-room the blows of 
hammers and the clatter of iron thrown hastily 
down showed that the engineer was' trying to 
clear up the wreck in the engine-room, although 
the possibility of repairing the machinery was 
admitted to be out of the question. The passen- 
gers chatted gaily on deck. All fears had van- 
ished, now that pleasant weather had once 
more returned. The sun was evidently trying to 
break its way out through the clouds that still 
leadened the sky, and the gentle breeze caressed 
the vessel as if imploring forgiveness for the 
strong brutality of the tempest. 

I told you, ma'am,” said the millionaire to 
Mrs. Roberts, “ that we weren't going to be 
drowned. You might as well take off that water- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


217 


proof cloak of yours, and make up your mind 
that you’re not going to get wet this trip.” 

I put on the waterproof because I thought 
we were going to land on that island,” replied 
Mrs. Roberts. If we could all go to the hotel 
and get food and get rested, while the ship was 
being repaired, it would do us all good. I’ve no 
doubt that we could get excellent fresh food at 
the hotel.” 

‘‘ I’m of the opinion, ma’am,” said Gallegher, 
that you wouldn’t do much eating if you went 
ashore. The eating would be done by the island- 
ers, and unless you feel sure that you would sat- 
isfy them you’d do better to stop aboard the 
yacht.” 

“ What in the world do you mean? ” asked 
the puzzled lady. 

I mean, ma’am, that there’s probably no- 
body on the island except cannibals, at least 
that’s what the captain thinks. Now, I needn’t 
tell a lady of your intelligence that your views 
of what’s good to eat won’t agree with those 
of a lot of cannibals.” 

“ I think you are perfectly horrid,” returned 
Mrs. Roberts. “ You are always making a joke 
of sacred things. Besides, I don’t believe you. 


2I8 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


The island looks perfectly lovely, and cannibals 
would never live in such a place.” 

“Ain’t there a hymn that says something 
about a place where every prospect pleases, and 
the men are everlastingly vile? Perhaps that 
island is the identical place that the hymn speaks 
of? ” 

“ What are those men running for? ” sud- 
denly asked Mrs. Roberts, without answering 
Gallegher’s question. 

The carpenter’s men had thrown down their 
work in obedience to a sudden order from the 
bridge. Their startled faces, as they rushed to- 
ward the engine-room, • showed that something 
had happened. Almost at the same moment 
black smoke curled up from below and grew 
swiftly in volume. 

The half-stifled engineers and stokers, who 
had been working amid the wreck of the engine, 
came up from below with blackened faces and 
terrified looks. They were met by the mate, and 
fiercely ordered to return below. 

“ Down below, all of you! ” shouted the cap- 
tain. “ Drive those hounds back, Mr. Jones, and 
keep them below till they’ve put the fire out.” 

The men hesitated, but the mate and the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


219 


carpenter, armed with belaying pins, drove them 
down, and followed them. The smoke continued 
to pour upward without abatement. 

“ I should judge,” said Gallegher, in reply to 
Mrs. Roberts, “ that the yacht was afire, and 
that there was more or less petroleum in the 
blaze.” 

“We shall all be burnt to death! ” cried the 
terrified woman. “ Oh, do let us get away from 
this horrid ship if we possibly can.” 

“ You were bound to be drowned a little 
while ago, and now you’re insisting on being 
burnt. Now you just keep cool and wait for the 
captain’s orders, and you’ll find that nothing will 
hurt you.” 

“ Don’t you mean to do anything to save us? 
Are you going to leave everything to that man? 
This is your boat and you ought to take care of 
your passengers.” 

“ The captain’s paid to take care of us all,” 
said Gallegher, “ and I’m not going to interfere 
with him. We’ll just stop where we are, and 
wait till he tells us what to do. If worst comes 
to worst we can easily go ashore in the boats.” 

“There! I knew you didn’t mean it when 
you said the island was inhabited by cannibals. I 
15 


220 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


don’t believe there are any cannibals, and if there 
are, I’m not so much afraid of them as I am of 
fire.” 

For a long twenty minutes the men fought 
the fire below, but unsuccessfully. They could 
not master it, and finally they were driven on 
deck by the heat and smoke. The hatches were 
then battened down, and through holes cut in 
the deck water was poured below, but without 
any appreciable effect. Steam could not be got 
on the donkey engine, for access to it was shut 
off by the fire, and the hand-engine used for 
washing down the decks was the only and inef- 
ficient means of throwing water on the flames. 
It was plain that the yacht was doomed, and the 
captain gave the order to make ready to abandon 
her. Two boats were sufficient to carry all the 
people, especially as the land was so near that it 
was unnecessary to burden the boats with water 
and provisions. Three-quarters of an hour after 
the fire had broken out the vessel was aban- 
doned, and the boats carrying the crew and pas- 
sengers pulled clear of the blazing vessel and 
headed for the shore. 

The passengers were all in the captain’s boat, 
and as the men rested on their oars for a moment 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


221 


to watch the yacht, which was a pyramid of 
flame, Gallegher asked the captain how the fire 
had originated. 

“ That’s more than I can say,” he replied. 
“ It began in the paint-room, where there was a 
barrel of petroleum, besides considerable alcohol 
and turpentine. Fires usually begin in the paint- 
room. It ought to be the safest place in the 
ship, for it’s the one where the greatest precau- 
tions against fire are taken, but somehow fires 
are always starting in the paint-room, and when 
they once begin there they generally make a 
clean job of it.” 

“ That island looks like a pleasant sort of 
place,” resumed Gallegher. 

“ I hope the natives are pleasant,” replied 
the captain. “ However, I had a dozen rifles put 
into the mate’s boat.” 

“ And plenty of cartridges? ” 

The captain’s face fell. I don’t believe 
there is a single cartridge in the boat,” he said 
gloomily. “ I forgot to order any to be taken, 
and the mate’s a man who does everything he’s 
ordered to do, and never does anything else. 
But, then, we won’t want to use any cartridges. 
The sight of rifles is all the natives will require.” 


222 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Gallegher did not comment on this cheering 
theory. He was greatly disappointed to find 
that the ship’s company were entirely without 
means of defence, but he knew that it would be 
worse than useless to alarm the women by dwell- 
ing on the subject. 

As they neared the shore they saw a little 
knot of men standing on the beach. The captain 
stood up and scanned them closely through his 
binocular. “ White men, I should say,” he said 
presently. “ At any rate, they’re dressed like 
sailors. Probably some ship has been wrecked 
here. The island may be a civilized one after all.” 

“ If there’s only a good hotel I don’t care 
what the island is like,” said Mrs. Roberts. I 
want to sit down at a real dinner table once more 
— a table that don’t keep rocking this way and 
that way all the time. And I want fresh vege- 
tables and a good wide bed, and a regular Pres- 
byterian church, where I can hear a good sermon 
and see some new bonnets.” 

We shall know all about the place soon,” 
said Gallegher. He had already made out that 
the men on the beach were armed, and he was 
not favourably impressed by the fact. 

When the two boats had approached, passed 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


223 


through the reef that encircled the island and 
crossed the lagoon until they were within hailing 
distance of the beach, they plainly perceived that 
the men who awaited them were Europeans and 
sailors. The captain was heading straight for 
the beach when he was hailed from the shore. 

'' Say, you fellows! shouted one of the is- 
landers. Just you keep off till you’ve given an 
account of yourselves. We don’t allow every- 
body to land here.” 

“ We’re the passengers and crew of the 
American yacht Caucus,” replied the captain. 
“ We’ve had to abandon the yacht, and you can 
see her burning out yonder. I suppose you 
won^t object to letting us land.” 

Perhaps not,” replied the man. All I say 
is that none of you are to come any nearer until 
we’ve come to an agreement. You can’t land 
without promising to do as we say. This island’s 
our property, and we don’t want any strangers 
here.” 

'' But you can’t refuse to let us land,” said 
the captain. ‘‘We haven’t a drop of water nor an 
ounce of provisions, and you can see for yourself 
that there are ladies with us.” 

“ We don’t want any ladies here,” cried an ill- 


224 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


looking ruffian, who was armed with a double- 
barrelled gun. Tell them to stay where they 
damn are.” 

“ If you’ve got any arms,” resumed the first 
spokesman, drop them overboard. Then you 
can pull in near enough to talk comfortable. If 
you come too near, and don’t act on the square, 
we’ll fire on you without any more words. Do 
you agree to this? ” 

The captain made no answer for a moment, 
and then said, “ You should be Englishmen by 
the look of you. Why do you object to letting 
shipwrecked men and women land? Is that Eng- 
lish? ” 

‘‘ You’re a-drifting too near,” said the man on 
shore in a warning voice. “ If you come any 
nearer without dropping your arms overboard 
there’ll be trouble.” 

The captain ordered his men to back water, 
and then said, If I swim ashore alone will you 
let me land and see if we can come to an agree- 
ment? ” 

‘‘ Now you’re talking,” replied the man. 
'' Come along. We won’t hurt ah unarmed 
man.” 

The captain threw off his coat and boots, and 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


225 


Springing into the water soon gained the shore. 
He found himself confronted by seven ragged 
but vigorous sailors, armed with guns, rifles and 
revolvers. The man who was apparently in com- 
mand of them was much the most prepossessing 
of the gang, and had he not been armed and in 
company with his fellow ruffians, he might have 
been taken for a genial, honest old salt. 

Come along with me,” said the man, when 
the captain had made good his footing on the 
beach. “ You chaps stand by to shoot if the boat 
tries to land. Now, sir, we’re by ourselves and 
we can have a quiet talk.” 

“ What does this mean? ” asked the captain. 

What right have you men to forbid us to 
land? ” 

'' Oh, that is all right,” replied the sailor, in a 
soothing tone. We haven’t no objection to let 
you land provided you promise to obey .our 
rules. That’s what any guvment would do. 
You wouldn’t be let to land in England except 
you’d undertake to obey the rules. You’d have 
to begin by obeying the quarantine rules and 
passing the doctor. Now, ain’t I speaking the 
truth? ” 

“ I don’t deny that if this is your island you 


226 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


have a right to make your own laws, and to re- 
quire people who land here to obey them; but 
you’ve no right to turn men and women adrift 
when they come to you in distress. What are 
these rules of yours that you ask us to obey? ” 

We’ll let you land, and give you a place on 
the south side of this island where you can live 
comfortably by yourselves. All we ask is, you 
give up your arms and navigating instruments — 
if so be that you’ve got any — and promise never 
to leave the island on no pretence whatever.” 

Never to leave the island! ” echoed the cap- 
tain in amazement. “ Are you all stark mad? ” 

“ It’s this way, captain,” said the man coax- 
ingly. You see, this island belongs to us sailor- 
men, and we’re a republic, and we don’t want any 
man-of-war coming here and abolishing us. We 
were shipwrecked here a year or so ago, and we’ve 
found living here a sight better than living in a 
fo’c’sle. If you go away from here and report 
that you’ve discovered this island in such and 
such a place, there’ll be a British or a French or a 
Dutch man-of-war alongside in next to no time, 
and then we’d have a governor put over us and 
our freedom would be gone. We calculate to 
spend the rest of our days here, and we don’t 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


227 


want to be interfered with. You just agree to 
abide by our rules, and you can similarly stop 
here as long as you live. This is what my mates 
have ordered me to say to you, and they mean 
it.” 

“ Suppose we don’t promise never to leave 
the island; what then? ” 

Then there’ll be the biggest kind of trouble. 
We don’t want to be driven to use harsh meas- 
ures, but we’re determined that nobody shall 
carry away information about this place. You 
must agree to obey the rules. If you don’t, why 
then all I can say is that you mustn’t blame me 
for the consequences.” 

And those consequences will be? ” 

“We should everlastingly hate to fire on you, 
especially as you’ve got women with you, but 
we’ve all swore to abide by the rules, and as sure 
as you’re a living man we’ll do it. I don’t want 
to hurry you, but you’d better make up your 
mind quick. My mates are getting impatient, 
and if they break loose I can’t hold them.’ 

The captain fully comprehended the situa- 
tion. He and his companions were entirely at 
the mercy of the islanders. They could not leave 
the island without provisions and water, even if 


228 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


the islanders would permit them to leave; and 
they could not land without pledging them- 
selves to observe the rules forbidding them ever 
again to leave the place. 

I am only the captain of the yacht/’ he 
said after a moment’s thought. My owner is 
in my boat, and I must consult him before giv- 
ing you an answer; it will be his business to say 
whether or not we are to accept your terms.” 

“ All right,” replied the man, and then added 
in a whisper: “ For Heaven’s sake, captain, sing 
out that you’ll come ashore and obey the rules in- 
side of five minutes after you see your owner. I 
haven’t got much command over the men, and 
they may begin to shoot if you don’t agree to our 
terms mighty quick. I’ve seen enough blood- 
shed in my time, and I don’t want to see no 
more.” 

The captain swam back to the boat and re- 
ported the result of the conversation. 

“ Gentlemen,” said Gallegher, there’s only 
one thing to be done. We can’t fight well-armed 
pirates, and we can’t go to sea in these boats 
without water and provisions. We’ve got to 
knuckle down and obey what those chaps call 
their rules; but I calculate that they come under 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


229 


the head of political rules, and as such we’ve got 
the natural right of freemen to do as we please 
with them. We’ll start in by promising anything 
the rascals want, and then, seeing as the island is a 
republic, we’ll capture the government and make 
rules to suit ourselves. You trust me to manage 
that. Before we’ve been here two months I shall 
be boss of this island, and we shall all be free to 
do as we like. I haven’t been a practical poli- 
tician all my life without learning my trade.” 

The ship’s company fancied that they saw a 
gleam of light in Gallegher’s confident words, and 
they unanimously authorized him to come to 
terms with the islander. The captain at once 
hailed the beach, and announced that the terms 
offered were accepted. 

'' Right you are,” replied the leader of the 
islanders. Each boat will heave overboard all 
its arms, including the men’s knives, and after 
that the boats can land one at a time. Your boat 
had better begin, captain, and I hope you’ll bear 
a hand.” 

The rifles were thrown overboard from the 
captain’s boat, after which it was permitted to 
pull slowly to the beach and the people were al- 
lowed to land, the islanders meantime covering 


230 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


them with their guns. As soon as the captain’s 
party had landed they were ordered to retire a 
short distance from the beach, and a sentry was 
placed over them, while the people of the other 
boat followed their example. When all were 
safely landed the boats were stove in with axes 
and reduced to kindling wood. This was an un- 
expected blow to the sanguine millionaire, but 
on reflection he thought it highly probable that 
the islanders had boats of their own that they 
could use when the moment for leaving the 
island should arrive. 

After the boats were disposed of, the pockets 
of the male members of the yacht’s company were 
searched for concealed weapons, but none were 
found. Gallegher had indeed ventured to bring 
his revolver ashore, but when he saw that he was 
to be searched he quietly passed it to Mrs. Rob- 
erts, curtly ordering her to conceal it in her 
bosom. Mrs. Roberts had a woman’s usual fear 
of the weapon, but she knew that she was in peril, 
and she instinctively trusted to the brain and 
bravery of Gallegher. She concealed the re- 
volver successfully, and Gallegher had the con- 
solation of knowing that there was at least one 
weapon at his command. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


231 


Now,” said the leader of the islanders, 
“ you men all stand up and swear to obey the 
laws and regulations of this republic. The wom- 
en needn’t swear, as they wouldn’t be citizens 
anyway, and, besides, we’re not afraid of anything 
that women can do. Take the oath, gentlemen, 
and don’t keep us waiting! Here’s a Bible for 
you to kiss, and I needn’t say that if any man 
pretends to kiss it and don’t, he’ll find out that 
this republic isn’t to be skylarked with.” 

The men readily took the oath. When the 
ceremony was ended the old sailor requested 
them to follow him, and under his leadership, and 
escorted by the armed guard, they marched 
along a narrow path through the thick bush 
until the rocky heights on the opposite side of the 
island were reached. Passing through a narrow 
opening in the rocky barrier they found them- 
selves on a broad, grassy slope, bounded on one 
side by the sea, and on the opposite side by a high 
precipitous wall of volcanic rock through which 
there was apparently no opening except the 
gorge through which they had come. 

These are your quarters,” said the old sea- 
man. “ We’ll send the women over here to build 
houses for you and to bring you some grub. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


23i 

There’s a spring over yonder in the bush. You’ll 
understand that you’d better stop here as a gen- 
eral thing. You’ll find it a sight more comfort- 
able than being aboard ship, and after a bit you’ll 
be as unwilling to leave the island as we are.” 

Almost as soon as the guard had withdrawn 
a dozen or more native girls arrived, bringing 
provisions and light bamboo rods. Several of 
the girls spoke broken but intelligible English, 
and all welcomed the newcomers with warmth. 
In an incredibly short time they had built two 
large native huts framed with bamboo and cov- 
ered with matting. The larger hut was intended 
for the men and the smaller for the women. 
Gumnor objected to sharing the larger house 
with his companions, and prevailed upon the 
girls to build him a separate shelter close to the 
edge of the bush. He said that he could not 
sleep in the same room with any other person, 
and the excuse was accepted without comment. 

Before night fell all was finished, and the girls 
returned to their own part of the island. Mrs. 
Roberts was greatly dissatisfied because there 
was not a first-class hotel on the island, but her 
joy at being once more on dry land made her will- 
ing to accept the situation. The other women 


PREWITT’S DREAM 


233 


fully recognised that they were in an unpleasant, 
not to say dangerous predicament, but they 
showed neither regret nor fear, and set about such 
domestic tasks as presented themselves with the 
simple heroism of their sex. Kate Simmons 
quietly took charge of the house in which the 
women lived, and her companions submitted to 
her leadership with cheerful docility. Gallegher 
admired her executive ability, and declared that 
Nature had intended her to be a boss. 

After supper the men of the party were sit- 
ting together when Gallegher said abruptly, 
“ Captain, what do you make of these fellows 
and their republic? 

“ They’re mutineers,” replied the captain. 

That story of being shipwrecked here is all 
rubbish! If they had been put here without their 
consent they would have grumbled, like all sail- 
ors, and jumped at the first chance of getting 
away. Besides, where are their officers? Is it 
likely that all the officers were drowned when 
their vessel went ashore? ” 

“ Then this is another mutiny of the Bounty 
affair,” said the doctor. 

“ Precisely,” replied the captain. “ Those 
rascals have killed their officers and captured 


234 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


their ship. They’ve picked up wives among the 
islands and brought their ship to this uninhabited 
place. They know that if their whereabouts is 
discovered a man-of-war will be sent to bring 
them home, wherever that may be, and hang 
them. Naturally, they prefer to stop here in 
hiding.” 

“ That does seem probable,” said Gallegher. 

But that old chap that brought us here seemed 
a decent sort. I can’t think that he is a mur- 
derer.” 

“ You can’t count on a sailor,” answered the 
captain. “ The best men will sometimes be led 
into a mutiny, and when they know that they 
have put a rope round their necks they’ll do any- 
thing to escape hanging.” 

“ I’ll go and have a talk with the old man to- 
morrow,” said Gallegher. “ Til bet that I get 
some information out of him. So long as we’re 
here we want to keep on good terms with the 
mutineers. ’ If it comes to a fight we can’t do 
very much without arms. I wish we knew what 
part of the world we are in.” 

“We’re probably somewhere in the Papuan 
group of islands,” remarked Cumnor. “ I saw 
the print of a leopard when I went to the spring. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


235 


and that ought to give us a clue. The leopard 
in these seas is found only among the Papuan 
islands.” 

Thank you, Mr. Cumnor,” said the cap- 
tain. You and your leopards are as good as the 
sextant and the chronometer that went over- 
board. You’re perfectly sure of what you say? ” 

“ Perfectly. I know the leopard thoroughly, 
and I can’t be mistaken. You had better warn 
the women not to venture away from the huts. 
The leopard won’t attack you in the open, but 
he’s a dangerous customer in the bush.” 

“ Mutineers and leopards make up a pretty 
strong hand,” said Gallegher. “ This don’t seem 
to be a very healthy island for Sunday-school 
picnics. Can’t you throw in a few snakes to add 
to the variety? ” 

“ I doubt if there are any venomous snakes, 
though there are probably some of the big con- 
strictors.” 

“ Pm beginning to feel at home here al- 
ready,” said Gallegher cheerfully. The popu- 
lation of this island reminds me a good deal of 
our Fourth ward at home; only the people of 
the Fourth ward, being chiefly Polish Jews and 
South Italians, are dirtier and more dangerous 
16 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


236 

than these mutineers and leopards and snakes. 
Well, I’ll turn in now, and in the morning I’ll 
look up the mutineers and see what I can do 
with them.” 

The night was wonderfully peaceful. There 
was no sound except the gentle wash of the surf 
and the low breathing of the wind among the 
trees. If there were noxious animals on the is- 
land they gave no sign of their presence. A sur- 
prise awaited the little company in the morning. 
All of the crew, with the exception of three 
sailors and a stoker, had abandoned them during 
the night and gone to cast in their lot with the 
mutineers. 

‘‘ That’s all the better for us,” said the cap- 
tain to Gallegher, We now need only one 
boat instead of two, and if the carpenter is the 
man I take him to be he’ll manage to build one 
for us.” 

“ I don’t see it,” said Gallegher. “ If we’re 
going to order boats we might as well order a 
dozen as one. So far as I can see, there are no 
boats offered for sale here, and I can’t see how 
the carpenter can build a boat with no tools but 
a penknife.” 

‘‘ The fewer sailors and stokers we have with 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


237 


US the better,” persisted the captain. There 
are fewer mouths to fill, and you’ll find that we 
can’t live comfortably on nothing but bread-fruit 
and cocoanuts. It’s lucky that fishing lines were 
put in the boats, for we shall have to depend prin- 
cipally on the fish that we catch in the lagoon.” 

‘‘ There will be no lack of meat,” said Cum- 
nor. ‘‘ I will undertake to furnish you with meat, 
provided there are any animals except leopards 
on the island.” 

The captain looked at him curiously, but 
Gallegher laughed and said: “ Mr. Cumnor had 
made himself solid with the girls, and he expects 
them to feed us. Didn’t you notice how easy he 
got them to build him a house of his own? He’s 
calculating that they will bring him chickens and 
pigs as a sort of love token. That’s all right, Mr. 
Cumnor! As long as you’ll furnish food we 
won’t ask how you do it.” 

After breakfast Gallegher strolled over to the 
settlement of the mutineers, as he now unhesitat- 
ingly believed them to be. He found some 
twenty-four idle fellows, with their native wives, 
eating cocoanuts, smoking or lying asleep on the 
soft sand. The old sailor came to meet him and 
greeted him cordially, but the rest of the m.en 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


238 

eyed him sullenly, and made scant reply to his 
cheery Good morning, gentlemen! ” 

“ Tve got a good cigar for you,” said Galle- 
gher to the old man. “ Just you come along with 
me and we'll sit down in the shade and smoke 
comfortably.” 

“ That cigar is good,” said the sailor, as the 
two seated themselves under the shade of a tree 
at a discreet distance from the others. It's the 
first one I've smoked for nigh upon three years.” 

Glad you like it,” said Gallegher. “ It's 
the last one I had left, and after this we shall 
have to buy tobacco from you or go without. I 
might as well ask your name, for we can't talk 
very well until I do know it. Mine is Gallegher, 
and if you were ever in the State of Illinois you 
must have heard it.” 

I never was in Illinois,” replied the man, 
“ though I'm an American from wayback. My 
name's Tom. We don't have any last names here. 
They wouldn't be of any use to us, considering 
that we never expect to sign articles again.” 

“ Speaking of this republic of yours, are you 
the president? ” 

‘‘ No, sir, we don't have a president. All 
the government we've got is an umpire and the 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


239 


supreme court. Tm the umpire. When there’s 
any dispute to be settled I settle it, and if the 
parties don’t agree the supreme court turns to 
and licks them. There are four members of the 
court, and they’re all first-class men. Two of 
them have fought in the ring in their time, and 
the other two are every bit as good.” 

That’s a curious sort of government,” re- 
marked Gallegher. How did you come to 
adopt it? ” 

Why, sir, when we came ashore here we 
said that we would be all equal and have no sort 
of laws whatsoever. But the thing didn’t work. 
We saved a good lot of liquor from the wreck, for 
she was loaded with liquor for some nigger mar- 
ket, and all hands got drunk and stayed drunk 
for weeks. That was all right enough if it hadn’t 
been that the drink made them quarrelsome, 
which is what this cheap nigger rum always does. 
I ain’t a drinking man myself, leastways I never 
get drunk on duty; and one day when the men 
happened to be more or less sober, owing to the 
licking that most of them had got the night be- 
fore, when all hands had got into a permiscuous 
fight, I got them to make a rule that we’d only 
get drunk by watches.” 


240 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


What does getting drunk by watches 
mean? ” asked Gallegher. 

'' It’s this way, sir. We agreed that the star- 
board watch should be drunk one day and the 
port watch the next. That gave us one sober 
watch, to keep the other drunk watch in order. 
But after a bit the sober men, wanting something 
to do to pass the time, took to interfering with the 
wives of the drunk watch, and this led to more 
rows than ever. So we concluded that we’d 
got to have a guvment after all, and I proposed 
that we make one man umpire and agree to do as 
he said. They made me umpire, but as I was too 
old to lick the whole crowd I couldn’t make the 
men obey me. So we chose four of the best 
fighters of the lot to be the supreme court, with 
the understanding that they were to lick any 
man who wouldn’t obey the umpire. We’ve 
done very well since then, and I consider that 
we’re the best governed republic going.” 

And do you still get drunk by watches? ” 
asked Gallegher. All hands seem sober 
enough just now.” 

“ The liquor’s run short, sir, and we can only 
serve out enough for a single watch to get good 
and drunk once a week. It’s the starboard 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


241 


watch’s turn to-morrow, sir, and I shouldn’t ad- 
vise you or any of your people to show your- 
selves on this side of the island just then.” 

I propose,” said Gallegher, “ that you allow 
us to start an independent republic of our own 
and govern ourselves in our own way. When we 
get an organized government it will show that 
we mean to stop here, won’t it? We’ll agree 
not to interfere with you in any way, and you’ll 
agree not to interfere with us, so long as we keep 
on our side of the island, and don’t attempt to 
leave, or break our word. Y ou strike me as being 
a good square man, and I don’t doubt that you’ll 
see the thing in the same light as I do.” 

“ What you say seems fair enough, sir,” said 
the sailor. “ Provided you don’t try to leave the 
island, I can’t see why you shouldn’t have a 
republic of your own. You haven’t got any 
liquor with you, and you can’t expect us to share 
ours, but there are other things that you can 
fight about. A peaceful island like this is just 
the place to drive a man into fighting. You’ve 
got several ladies with you and there’s bound to 
be a row among you about them. I’ll just ask 
the men what they think of your proposal, and if 
they say they don’t object to it I m sure I don t. 


242 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


After a brief conference with his mates the 
sailor returned and said that full permission to 
establish a new republic had been granted. 
“ There’s one thing,” he added, that I ought 
to say to you. Nine of your men joined us last 
night, and we put six of them in the starboard 
watch, which was three men short. Now I’m not 
dead sure that the supreme court could handle 
the whole watch, considering what big fresh men 
yours are. So just you keep a weather eye lifting 
to-morrow night in case the watch gets out of 
hand and takes a notion to pay you a visit. I 
don’t think they would mean mischief, but our 
liquor is the pizenist I ever knew, and it would 
make a Quaker parson want to turn to and lick 
somebody.” 

“ Thank you,” said Gallegher. “ You’re too 
good a man for the gang that you are with. 
You’d better come over and join our republic. 
You’d have a better time with us than you’ll ever 
have here.” 

You’re very kind, sir,” said Tom; ''but it 
can’t be done. I always calculate to do my 
duty, and it’s my duty to stop here and try to 
keep these men in some sort of order. The worst 
thing that could happen to you would be for me 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


243 


to join you and leave these men to themselves. 
Besides, sir, they’re my shipmates, and I’m in the 
same boat with them.” 

'' I don’t see the boat. I’m sorry to say,” said 
Gallegher. I’d give a good deal to see some 
kind of a boat, but there don’t seem much chance 
of that. Well! so long. You’ve been friendly, 
and I’ll not forget it, if the time ever comes that 
I can do you a good turn.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


That evening the millionaire asked his com- 
rades to organize a meeting, by appointing a 
chairman and secretary. Then he unfolded to 
them his plan of establishing an independent 
republic. We must have a government that’ll 
last so long as we are on this island,” he said. 

We’ve got the women to protect and ourselves 
to look after, and it can’t be done unless we 
have some recognised authority to take the lead. 
We’ve got very little employment to help us 
pass the time, and I’m of the opinion that we 
can’t do a more sensible thing than to organize a 
model government. It will amuse us, and do us 
good at the same time. Now, gentlemen, if you 
please, I should like to have your view of my 
proposal.” 

The doctor laughed. “ Gallegher can’t for- 
get that he is born to be a boss,” said he. Now 
that he’s got a free hand I should like to see what 
sort of a government he’ll invent.” 

244 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


245 


“ Anything that Mr. Gallegher proposes is 
good enough for me,” said the captain; and the 
others quickly signified their entire acquiescence 
in Gallegher’s proposal. 

The trouble with all democratic govern- 
ments,” said Gallegher, '' is that the people are 
allowed to interfere with men who know the 
business of politics. The only way to counteract 
the evil is by the judicious use of money. Now 
we haven’t any money here, and so I don’t pre- 
cisely see how a democratic government is to be 
carried on.” 

Let us have a military despotism, with 
Mr. Gallegher as the despot,” said Drewitt. “ I 
shall be entirely content with his govern- 
ment.” 

Thank you,” replied Gallegher; but that 
won’t exactly suit. We’ve got to have a consti- 
tution, and a legislature to pass laws. According 
to my notion, laws that haven’t been passed by a 
legislature are not binding on anybody. I’m 
willing to meet Mr. Drewitt’s proposal halfway. 
That is to say. I’ll appoint a legislature, and when 
it has passed all the necessary laws we’ll have it 
adjourned sine die, and I’ll run things myself. 
Does that meet with the general approbation? ” 


246 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


Gallegher’s audience entered heartily into the 
millionaire’s scheme, partly in order to please 
him, and partly because of the lack of any better 
amusement. They asked him to appoint the leg- 
islature without delay, and to propose the laws 
that he wished to have passed. 

Hold on!” exclaimed Gallegher. “We’ll 
go slow, if you please. This thing isn’t a joke. 
You’ll please remember that we all swore never 
to leave the island under any pretence whatever. 
Isn’t that so? ” 

“ Unfortunately it is,” said Drewitt. 

“ Well, that alone is a sufficient reason for es- 
tablishing an independent government. I’ve 
seen the men on the other side of the island, and 
they all agreed that we might establish a repub- 
lic of our own, and be entirely independent of 
them. Now just as soon as we have a govern- 
ment the legislature can pass a law requiring 
every man to leave the island at the first op- 
portunity. That releases us from our promise, 
don’t it?” 

“ Seems to me that it does,” remarked the 
captain. “Anyway, I propose to leave in the 
first boat.’’ 

“ I can’t precisely see,” said Drewitt, “ that 


DREWITT'S DREAM 247 

we can release ourselves from a promise by sim- 
ply resolving that we do so.” 

“ You’re not looking at the matter in a broad 
political light,” said Gallegher. “ Can’t the 
legislature of an independent country do as it 
pleases? Suppose you Britishers make a treaty 
with France binding yourselves to do thus and 
so. Couldn’t your Parliament break that treaty 
by passing a law requiring Englishmen to do 
just the opposite of what the treaty required? ” 
“ It is a maxim of law that Parliament is om- 
nipotent,” replied Drewitt. 

''That’s just what I am claiming for our 
legislature,” retorted Gallegher. " When we 
have organized our government, it will be just as 
genuine a government as that of England or the 
United States. I can tell you, gentlemen, that 
ever since we had to make that promise never to 
leave the island, it has troubled me considerable, 
for I never break my word to any man. But the 
moment those scoundrels gave me permission to 
start an independent government I saw my way. 
You can take it straight from me, that if we have 
a legislature it can release us from that promise 
in a perfectly honourable way.” 

" Go ahead with your government! ” said the 


248 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


doctor. “You know more about political mat- 
ters than we do, and we're all ready to do what 
you wish." 

“ Very well, then," said Gallegher. “ To be- 
gin with, I appoint the captain, the doctor, and 
Drewitt members of the legislature. Do you 
accept, gentlemen? " 

“ Certainly," replied the newly appointed 
legislators. 

“ Then you will proceed to business. First, 
you will proceed to elect a president." 

Gallegher was promptly elected president of 
the new republic. 

“ By-the-bye," said the doctor, “ what is the 
name of this republic? " 

“ I forgot that," replied Gallegher. “ A 
name is an important thing. I’ve always held 
that we made a mistake when we called our coun- 
try the United States. We ought to have called 
it Alleghania, which would have been a genuine 
American name." 

“We will call this republic Galleghania," 
suggested the doctor. “ That will sound like an 
American name and will do honour to Mr. Gal- 
legher." 

“ All right," said Gallegher. “ I think myself 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


249 


that it would be a good name. And now we’ll 
pass our most important law. I’ve written it out 
so as to have it correct. Here it is: ' Resolved, 
that it is the duty of the citizens of this republic 
to get away from it as soon as they can.’ That 
resolution gets us out of a big difficulty, and does 
it honourably.” 

The resolution was adopted without a dis- 
senting voice. Drewitt, who alone, with the ex- 
ception of Gallegher, seemed to take the organi- 
zation of a government as anything except a 
practical joke, remarked that he would vote for 
the resolution, but that he did not consider that 
it released him from his promise. “ I shall leave 
the island if an opportunity offers,” he continued, 
because my promise was extorted by force, and 
because to keep it would be unjust to those who 
are with me; but I can not see that by resolving 
not to keep our word we can feel justified in 
breaking it.” 

Now that we have got through with that 
business,” continued Gallegher, “ I have a few 
laws to present, and then the legislature can ad- 
journ. Here is a tariff law, imposing a protective 
duty of one hundred per cent, on all imports into 
the island.” 


250 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


‘‘ I can’t exactly see the use of that,” began 
the doctor. 

'' Protection makes a country rich,” said Gal- 
legher. There can’t be the least doubt of that. 
We want our new republic to be rich, don’t we? 
Well, then, we must have a high tariff. A repub- 
lic without a high tariff isn’t worth shucks. 
You’re a protectionist, doctor, and you’ll admit 
that I am right.” 

“ Oh, I’ll admit anything,” said the doctor. 

Only I ought to tell you that the labour and 
responsibility of this sitting of the legislature 
is exhausting us rapidly.” 

'' Then we’ll do no more business to-day,” 
replied Gallegher. The legislature stands ad- 
journed sine die until the next time it is called to- 
gether by the president. Drewitt, if you don’t 
want to turn in just yet, come along with me; I 
want to talk with you.” 

The President of Galleghania and the young 
Englishman strolled down to the shore. The 
night was superb. There was scarcely a breath 
of air stirring, and the sea breathed slowly and 
gently on the sandy beach. 

“ Sit down,” said Gallegher, setting the ex- 
ample. “ I want you to understand what I’ve 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


251 


been doing. The others, being Americans, will 
understand easily enough, but you’re an English- 
man, and perhaps you think I’ve been acting like 
a grown-up child.” 

“ I must confess,” said Drewitt, '' that I 
rather fancied you were playing some sort of an 
American joke on us.” 

“ There’s no joke about it,” returned Galle- 
gher. ‘‘ See here, we’re in a tight place. We’ve 
got women under our charge, and we’ve got to 
defend them against thirty or forty drunken 
pirates. I managed to save my revolver, but it’s 
the only one in the crowd, and I’ve only got six 
cartridges for it.” 

“ But granting all that you say, why did you 
want to go through the farce of establishing a 
government? ” 

‘‘ For two reasons. First, we’ve got to have 
a leader who can be sure that he will be obeyed. 
You may look on our government as a joke, 
but the result of organizing it is that every 
man will obey me as a leader when it comes to 
a pinch. 

Then, again, the fact that we’ve organized 
ourselves will have a big effect on the mutineers. 
They’ll consider that we mean to stop here for 
17 


252 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


the rest of our lives, and they’ll respect us for 
being unwilling to live without a government, 
for they tried to do so and failed. And, finally, 
there’s the matter of our solemn promise never to 
leave the island. I tell you that has made me 
miserable until I saw an honest, straightforward 
way out of it. I’ve always been a man of my 
word, and I’m proud of it. I can feel, now that 
our government, which is as good a one as there 
is in any country of the globe, has released me 
from it, that I can leave the island the first 
chance that turns up, with a good conscience.” 

My dear fellow,” said Drewitt, “ I give it 
up. I shall never fully understand that con- 
science of yours, but I shall never doubt that you 
are as honest and honourable a man, according 
to your way of looking at things, as ever lived. 
What puzzles me more than anything else is the 
mystery how you ever came to be a political 
boss.” 

I’ll tell you,” said Gallegher, “ if you care 
to know. Neither of us is sleepy and we might 
as well sit here and talk. It happened in this 
way, and it isn’t a very long story: 

“ My father was a bricklayer. He was an 
Irishman, and as good, kind-hearted and square a 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


253 


man as ever came from County Cork. My moth- 
er was likewise Irish, but she was born in Amer- 
ica, and she could read and write, and I don’t 
doubt she could have played the piano if she had 
ever had one. I myself was born in Sallust City, 
and when I was big enough I was sent to school. 
At about fourteen I was taken out of school and 
set to work as an errand-boy in a big pork- 
packing house. When I got bigger and stouter 
I took the porter’s berth, and being sober and 
hard-working and good-tempered I was popular 
with my employers and with the rest of the 
workmen. 

“ One day our head proprietor sent for me 
and told me that he calculated to run for Con- 
gress on the Democratic ticket. He said he 
wanted me to help get him votes among the 
Irish, and he promised to pay me handsomely for 
every vote I could bring him. He was a good 
man and had always treated me well, and I nat- 
urally wanted him to be elected. So I went to 
work, and what between promising this and that 
in the way of money, and coaxing all my friends 
and fighting a few chaps that were opposed to 
seeing my man elected, I brought up the vote of 
that district on election to over two thousand — 


254 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


it generally having been about thirteen hundred. 
I elected my man, and I don’t mind saying that I 
did. He knew it, too, and before he went to 
Washington he paid all the expenses that I gave 
him a list of, and he handed me a cheque for one 
thousand dollars for myself. I wish we had more 
men like him in America. He was the soul of 
honesty, and when you talk about consciences, 
his was worth ten of mine, at the least calcula- 
tion. 

“ That first success of mine made me a poli- 
tician for life. In those days our city was strong- 
ly Republican. The reason was that the Repub- 
licans were organized and had money to spend, 
while the Democrats hadn’t either organization 
or money. I gave up my place as porter, having 
my thousand dollars in my pocket, and went to 
work to organize the party. I got men to help 
me that I could depend upon, and we made peo- 
ple understand that there was going to be a 
chance for Democrats to make a living out of 
politics. I had the name of every Democrat in 
the place, and most of them pledged themselves 
to vote the straight ticket at every election. 
Then I let it be known that men who wanted 
office were to come to me. If a man wanted to 


DREWITT’3 DREAM 


255 


be coroner, for example — and a coroner’s place 
in Sallust City is worth from fifteen to twenty 
thousand dollars a year — I first learned all about 
the man, and whether he could be trusted to do 
the square thing. Then I agreed that he should 
have the Democratic nomination on condition of 
paying a thousand dollars down for election ex- 
penses on receiving the nomination and signing 
an agreement to pay twenty per cent, of his in- 
come from coroner’s fees while he remained in 
office. Same with men who wanted to be aider- 
men or Congressmen or judges, for you probably 
know that we elect our judges for a term of years. 
With the money that was put up for party ex- 
penses I could elect almost any decent man. 
Some men voted for my candidates because they 
were the regular Democratic candidates and they 
wanted to see the party succeed. Other men 
voted similar because they wanted to go into 
politics as a profession, and knew that the first 
thing they must do would be to work for the 
party and make themselves useful. Then there 
were those who voted because they knew that I 
paid a fair price for votes, and never broke my 
word. The consequence was that within two 
years after I began to manage things the Demo- 


BREWITT’S DREAM 


256 

crats captured the entire town, and they carried 
nearly every election from that time on. 

“ Of course I made a living out of the busi- 
ness. That was only fair. Even a minister 
makes his living out of his profession. But you 
mustn’t think that I hung on to all the money 
I received. I lived in a quiet way, and I used all 
the money that came into my hands in legitimate 
party expenses. I made a fortune before I went 
out of politics, but I didn’t make it by any dis- 
honest embezzling of party funds. Of course my 
own expenses were paid by the party, for they 
were just as much party expenses as paying for 
votes, or printing tickets, but they never were 
more than a thousand dollars a year, and I never 
handled less than one to two hundred thousand 
dollars every year. I made my money by judi- 
ciously using information that came to me — prin- 
cipally by buying up property where I knew that 
the city authorities meant to make improvements. 
Nobody can say a word against that. Not even 
you, Mr. Drewitt, strict as your British notions 
are. 

Did men who wanted offices always pay in 
the percentage of their incomes after their elec- 
tion? Of course they did. You see, I knew my 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


257 

men before I consented to deal with them. When 
a man had once put up a thousand dollars with a 
view to getting a nomination, he didn’t dare to 
own to the fact, for that would have made him 
liable to prosecution for corrupt practices. Con- 
sequently I had him fast, and he was afraid not to 
pay in the percentage of his profits that he had 
agreed to pay. Only once did a man kick. I 
had made him an alderman, and after his election 
he refused to pay anything more on the ground 
that he wasn’t going in for any re-election, and 
didn’t care what I might think of him. But I 
taught him a lesson. I had a bill put through the 
Board of Aldermen, and he was paid two hundred 
dollars for his vote in the matter. He didn’t know 
I had any hand in the bill, or that I knew anything 
about his having been paid the money; but he 
found out that I did know something about it 
when I had him indicted for taking a bribe. He 
was convicted and went to the penitentiary for 
two years, and when he came out and came to 
see me, I told him that I hadn’t had any ill-will 
against him personally, but that I had to make an 
example of him, so that other men who had been 
put into office by me shouldn’t go back on the 
party and refuse to contribute to its expenses. 


258 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


I worked hard while I was boss, and any 
man who thinks that being a boss is an easy and 
comfortable life don’t know what he is talking 
about. Twice I was investigated, once by a com- 
mittee of the State Legislature, and once by a 
committee of citizens, who had set out to reform 
the city government, but they didn’t make any- 
thing by it. I declined to answer questions that 
could incriminate me, and there wasn’t any evi- 
dence that I had sold offices, as they called it, to 
be got hold of. I never sold an office in my life. 
I had to have money to pay the expenses of the 
party, and it was only fair that the men who bene- 
fitted by the votes of the party should be the 
ones to furnish the money. When a church 
pays a minister his salary you don’t say that he 
buys his place. His preaching is supposed to 
benefit his congregation, and as the man must 
live, it is right and fair that the people who are 
benefitted by him should pay him enough for 
him to live on. If I’d given a man a nomination, 
and put in my own pocket the money that he 
contributed for party expenses, then you might 
have said that I sold offices, and that I didn’t act 
on the square. But that is what I never did, and 
my account books, if I had kept any, would have 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


259 


proved it. I didn’t keep any accounts, for ac- 
counts are sometimes mighty awkward things 
when they are read in public by order of a court, 
but I used the money honestly all the same, and 
nobody doubted that I did. ‘As honest as old 
Tom Gallegher,’ was a sort of proverb in our 
place. Even the Republicans respected me, and 
when I withdrew from politics most of my oppo- 
nents called to see me, and said that personally 
they were sorry that so square a man had gone 
out of the business. 

“ There’s another thing I never did. I’ve 
known bosses that made themselves popular by 
giving away coal, and food, and clothes to the 
poor, and charging the same to party expenses. 
I gave away a lot of money while I was in poli- 
tics, but I gave away my own money, and not the 
money that had been put into my hands for party 
expenses. And what’s more, I never gave a 
nomination to a man who I knew was unfit for 
the place, unless there were peculiar circum- 
stances that made it necessary. A boss who 
gives a nomination to any man who will con- 
tribute enough money is, in my opinion, a de- 
moralizing influence. I gave the people good 
government, and they knew it. I made money 


26 o 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


circulate among poor voters, and in that way I 
made it possible for thousands of men and women 
to provide themselves with food and coal and 
clothes. Of course, taxes went up more or less, 
for you can’t make money out of nothing, except 
by printing greenbacks, which, of course, I 
couldn’t do. Still, the people who paid the taxes 
were the rich folks, and I managed so that the 
increase in taxes wasn’t big enough to frighten 
them. The rich people gradually came round to 
my side, and allowed that I was the man to give 
the city good government and keep the disorder- 
ly elements in order. And they were right. 
When I come to die I sha’n’t be worried the first 
particle about my future. I shall just say that 
for thirty years I was boss of Sallust City, and that 
I am willing to abide by my record as an honest, 
patriotic, charitable man. I calculate that my 
record will pull me through easier than the rec- 
ord of some ministers will. 

I’ve been telling you all this because I have 
a sort of feeling that our acquaintance ain’t go- 
ing to last very much longer, and I want you to 
think well of me if you can. You’ll get away 
from this island, for you’ve got a duty laid on 
you, and the way for you to carry it through is 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


261 

sure to be furnished. You’ve got to find your 
female friend, and you’ll find her. But I ain’t so 
sure that all the rest of us will get away from 
here. I’ve a general sort of an idea that I’ve 
got to stop here for the rest of my days, and that 
there’s not going to be so very many of them 
either.” 

‘‘ You don’t apprehend any trouble with the 
mutineers, do you? ” asked Drewitt. 

“ I rather think we’ll have some sort of trou- 
ble with them before long. Old Tom, their boss, 
warned me that the next time they get drunk 
they may take into their heads to pay us a visit. 
However, we needn’t cross that bridge till we 
come to it. Perhaps we won’t have any trouble. 
By-the-bye, what’s come to Cumnor? Twice I’ve 
been to his hut in the evening, and there was no 
one there. Then, again, he has got into a way of 
sleeping most of the day. If he slinks round 
through the forest looking for flowers and ani- 
mals at night, he may get into trouble.” 

'' 1 know so little of him,” replied Drewitt, 
that I had not noticed that he wandered at 
night. But I fancy he can take care of himself. 
I was on the point of thanking you for your 
story when you spoke of him. I can assure you. 


262 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Mr. Gallegher, that however much our ideas con- 
cerning political matters may differ, I have the 
utmost respect for your personal integrity, and 
the warmest gratitude for your goodness of 
heart. You have shown me great kindness, and 
I am sure that I am only one of many who are in 
your debt.” 

“ Thank you, my boy,” replied Gallegher. 
'' I guess you’re partly right in what you say 
about other folks. There’s a considerable num- 
ber of men and women that are better off than 
they would be if I hadn’t lived, and I don’t know 
one that is worse off. That’s a consolation to 
me when I get low-spirited, and I don’t mind ad- 
mitting that I am a little down on my luck to- 
night. What’s that? It’s a rifle shot, or I’m 
mistaken,” he added, as he hastily sprang to his 
feet. “ Get a move on yourself and come with 
me.” So saying Gallegher rushed up the beach 
closely followed by his companion. As they 
passed the two huts where the men and the wom- 
en were sleeping, there was no sign of life. Evi- 
dently Gallegher and Drewitt alone had heard 
the shot. 

When the two reached the narrow passage 
through the rocks that separated their camp 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


263 

from the part of the island occupied by the mu- 
tineers, all was quiet. The night breeze blowing 
from the land silenced the light murmur of the 
gentle surf. The moon was at the full, and lighted 
up the landscape so that objects at a long dis- 
tance were visible. The men crept cautiously 
through the passage. When the further end was 
reached they saw a man lying on the ground, and 
beside him the vague figure of some large animal. 
The soft tread of another beast could be heard 
as it snapped the twigs beneath its weight in the 
near forest. Gallegher and Drewitt stood in the 
shadow of the rocks and waited to see what 
would happen. Presently the animal rose to its 
feet and stretched itself. It seemed to listen 
acutely with its head turned toward the bush. 
Then suddenly it bounded away and was lost to 
sight among the underbrush. 

That’s a leopard,” said Gallegher in a low 
voice. “ There’s more of them in the bush.” 

Can you make out the man on the 
ground? ” asked Drewitt. “ Is he dead or 
wounded? ” 

Can’t tell without going up to him,” re- 
plied Gallegher. He’s one of the mutineers by 
his dress, and if he’s been interviewing a leopard I 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


264 

guess he's got good enough reasons for keeping 
quiet. You stay here and I’ll go and have a look 
at him. I calculate the leopards won’t come out 
again. They can’t be hungry or they wouldn’t 
have left that fellow without sampling him.” 

Drewitt insisted upon accompanying his 
friend. The two walked swiftly to the place 
where the man was lying. He was quite dead, his 
neck having been broken by a blow of the leop- 
ard’s paw. Close to him lay a rifle. Gallegher 
picked it up. It had evidently been recently dis- 
charged, and as Gallegher had no cartridges with 
which to reload it he tossed the empty weapon 
into the underbrush, and with Drewitt returned 
to the camp. 

“ It’s plain enough what was the matter,” said 
Gallegher. “ That fellow came to pay us a visit, 
and the leopards interfered with him. Probably 
there were other chaps with him, but they bolted 
when the leopards sprang out. It shows that it 
won’t do for all hands of us to turn in at night. 
We’ve got to keep a watch, but we can do that 
ourselves without scaring the other fellows by 
telling them what has happened.” 

‘‘ Suppose we wake up Cumnor,” said Drew- 
itt. “ He’ll probably be glad to make the ac- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


265 


quaintance of a leopard, and he sleeps so little at 
night that he might just as well stay awake to 
some purpose.’’ 

“ Agreed,” said Gallegher. Cumnor’s 
about half an animal as it is, though he’s a good 
fellow for all that. I don’t mind telling him of 
our adventures, for he’s not one to talk.” 

They called in a low voice to Cumnor from 
the outside of his hut, but there was no answer. 
They were about to push aside the curtain and 
enter, when suddenly the man emerged from the 
wood and stood beside them. 

They noticed that he carried a bundle under 
his arm. 

“ So you’ve been taking a walk,” said Gal- 
legher. “ Did you happen to hear a rifle- 
shot? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Cumnor briefly. 

“ Do you know anything about it? ” pursued 
Gallegher. 

I know that a mad gang of men were on 
their way here to our camp when a leopard 
stopped them.” 

'' Well, that means that we’ve got to keep a 
bright lookout at night,” said Gallegher. “ You 
needn’t mention it to the others, but if you don’t 


266 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


mind we three will take turns in doing sentry go 
at night/' 

“ There is no necessity for that," replied 
Cumnor. “ The leopards are always wide awake 
at night, and we can trust them to make noise 
enough to give us the alarm if any one tries to 
attack us." 

'' You seem to be on pretty good terms with 
them," said Gallegher. ‘‘ Aren't you afraid 
that they will pounce on you while you are wan- 
dering in the bush? " 

'' Not in the least," replied Cumnor. ‘‘ I 
have met them more than once. But don't let 
me keep you up any longer. We can all sleep to- 
night, for the mutineers are too badly scared to 
attempt a second visit while they fancy the bush 
swarms with leopards." 

“ Good night! " said Gallegher. Come on, 
Drewitt, don't let us keep Mr. Cumnor out of 
bed." And the two friends turned back toward 
their own quarters. 

“ Did you notice the bundle Cumnor carried 
under his arm? " asked Gallegher. 

Now you speak of it, I did notice that he 
had something under his arm." 

“ I don't know what it was," said Gallegher, 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


267 


but Fm sure of one thing. Cumnor was out in 
the bush with his friends, the leopards, and he’s 
made an arrangement with them to protect us. 
You remember the leopard story that he told 
one night on board the yacht, and the queer 
way in which he made the cat come to him? It 
sounds mighty improbable, but I haven’t the 
least doubt that he can speak the leopard lan- 
guage, and that he’s as thick as thieves with 
them. Well, it’s not a bad idea for the Repub- 
lic of Galleghania to have an alliance with leop- 
ards. We folks at home once had an alliance 
with the Frenchmen, and I calculate that a leop- 
ard alliance is a good deal more respectable than 
that. I’ll say good night now and turn in. I 
guess we’re safe enough for to-night.” 


18 


CHAPTER IX 


The shipwrecked passengers of the Caucus 
had been on the island nearly four weeks. Al- 
though they were anxious to escape, it was un- 
deniable that their daily life was an easy one. 
With the exception of the one attempt already 
mentioned, the mutineers did not molest them. 
Each party kept strictly to its own part of the 
island. The men of the Caucus settlement passed 
their time in idleness, but without the ennui that 
idleness provokes in climates more remote from 
the line. The women were less contented, but 
they, too, felt the enervating influence of the 
warmth and moisture, and passed much of their 
time in sleeping. It was curious that enforced 
separation of the sexes at night in the two houses 
that had been built for them, resulted in a volun- 
tary separation by day. The women did not 
seem to desire the society of the men, and the 
men were contented to know that the women 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


269 


were alive and well. They were on perfectly 
pleasant terms with one another when they met, 
and of course they met many times in the day, but 
such meetings were usually of brief duration. In 
their isolation from civilization the women turned 
to one another for society and consolation. Even 
Miss Roberts lost all desire for flirtation, and the 
Salvation lassie’s religious fervour drowsed under 
the tropic sun. 

One morning the captain came to Galle- 
gher and, drawing him apart from the others, 
said, “ Mr. Gallegher, a boat drifted ashore 
here last night, and I found it early this morn- 
ing.” 

What sort of boat was it? Empty, or loaded 
with more shipwrecked people? ” 

It was one of our own boats that we lost 
during the hurricane — the port quarter-boat. 
There is the breaker of water that we always car- 
ried in that boat, and the oars are lashed under 
the thwarts. All we’ve got to do is load her with 
water and provisions, and we can say good-bye 
to this island to-night.” 

Suppose the mutineers take it into their 
heads to come over here to-day and find the 
boat? Where have you left her? ” 


2/0 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


‘‘ She’s hid in the little creek that empties 
into the lagoon a quarter of a mile farther to the 
east. She’s safe enough, for nobody can get to 
her without first passing through our camp. I’m 
only waiting your orders to tell the others that 
we have a boat and to begin to get her ready. 
We’d better start to-night after the mutineers 
have turned in.” 

“ Tell the men, but ask then not to speak to 
the women about the boat until just before we 
are ready to start. Are you sure that your three 
sailors will keep the secret? Won’t they prefer 
to stop with their shipmates who joined the mu- 
tineers, when they see that the time for rowing 
and going to work generally has come round 
again? ” 

‘‘ I don’t trust them very much,” said the cap- 
tain, but I intend to keep an eye on them, so 
that they can’t get away if they want to. Two of 
them are good men, but the third isn’t worth his 
salt. I shouldn’t mind leaving him behind, if he 
was only deaf and dumb.” 

The news of the unexpected finding of the 
boat was received with enthusiasm by all the 
party with the exception of Cumnor, the natural- 
ist. To the astonishment of his companions he 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


2/1 

announced that he should remain on the island. 

I am in no hurry to leave here,” he said. “ In 
fact, I can’t go until I have finished some investi- 
gations that I have been making. Send a ship 
for me in about three months, and I shall be glad 
to be taken off, but I’ve no fancy for cruising in a 
small boat.” 

The boat is perfectly safe,” said the captain. 

I’ll own that it isn’t as comfortable as a yacht, 
but it will take us away from here safely enough, 
and that is all we want of it.” 

“ This idea of stopping here is all nonsense, 
Cumnor!” exclaimed Gallegher. What is it 
you want to do? Are you wanting to enlarge 
your circle of acquaintance with leopards? You 
come along with us, and when we get to a civil- 
ized country I’ll buy you the best pair of leopards 
that can be got, and you can hobnob with them 
as much as you please.” 

Thank you! ” said Cumnor shortly. “ It is 
not necessary for me to explain my plans. I have 
a fancy for this place and mean to stay here a 
while longer. That, I believe, is no one’s busi- 
ness except my own.” 

Oh, suit yourself,” said Gallegher. '' We’ll 
send a man-of-war to take possession of this 


272 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


island, and you can leave on the man-of-war or 
spend the rest of your life here, just as you want 
to. Sorry to lose your company, of course, but 
you’re a free man and have a right to do as you 
please.” 

All that afternoon was spent in carrying pro- 
visions and water to the boat. It lay where it 
could be approached with difficulty by climbing 
over the rocks and through the thick jungle, but 
the men worked eagerly, and by dark the boat 
was fully ready, and it only remained for the party 
to take their places in it. Owing to the difficulty 
that the women would find in making their way 
to the creek where the boat was hidden, it was 
agreed that two men should bring her around to 
the beach close to the camp. So long as the 
mutineers had no knowledge of what was afoot 
this would be perfectly safe, and if they should 
happen to learn that a boat had come ashore they 
would search for it and find it wherever it might 
be. Ten o’clock was the hour fixed upon for em- 
barkation. By that time the mutineers’ camp 
was usually silent, and unless some unexpected 
accident should make them aware of the intend- 
ed escape, there was no reason to fear their inter- 
ference. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


273 


After supper Galleglier invited Drewitt to 
come with him to the beach. He evidently had 
something which he wished to say to the young 
man, but for some time after they had seated 
themselves on the sand he talked with his usual 
fluency of trivial matters, and Drewitt began to 
wonder why he had invited him to withdraw from 
the society of the other men. 

By-and-bye Gallegher ceased his reminis- 
cences of his former life, in which, as was his 
habit, he had been indulging, and said, '' Drew- 
itt, I want you to make me a promise.” 

‘‘ You can hardly ask anything that I will not 
cheerfully promise,” said Drewitt warmly. 

‘‘ You’ll get safe out of this, I know that, for 
you’ve got a job laid out for you, and when that 
happens to a man nothing can kill him till the 
job is done. I’ve felt all along, ever since we 
struck this island, that I’d come here to stay for 
good and all. I don’t mean that I have any crazy 
notion of not trying to get away with you; I’m 
not a scientific chap like Cumnor, and the society 
of beasts and vegetables don’t satisfy me as it 
does him. But something is going to happen 
that will keep me from leaving with you. I’ve no 
reason for saying this, and I know it sounds sort 


274 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


of silly and just like the things that spiritualists 
say, but for all that I feel it. 

Now don’t interrupt, for I want to get 
through before any one comes here to break up 
our conversation. If you all get away and I 
don’t, I want you to promise that you’ll see after 
Miss Simmons. Will you do it? ” 

“ I should be horribly ungrateful to her, as 
well as to you, if I did not,” replied Drewitt. “ I 
promise you that I’ll take the same care of her 
that I would of my sister, if I had one.” 

“ Right you are,” said Gallegher. “ And 
now I’ll tell you the reason why I wanted you to 
make that promise. I never saw a woman in my 
life that I wanted to marry until I saw her, and 
I made up my mind some time ago that if ever I 
had the chance I’d ask her to marry me. Mind 
you, I don’t think she would do it. There’s 
nothing in me to take a woman’s fancy, and as 
for my money that would stand in my light with 
her. She’s the sort of woman that would rather 
marry a poor man than a rich one. This after- 
noon I made my will, and the doctor and the cap- 
tain witnessed it. There it is. It may not be 
drawn up as a lawyer would draw it, but the cap- 
tain tells me that a shipwrecked man doesn’t have 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


275 


to put all the scientific law language in a will 
that another man would have to use. I’ve left 
the bulk of my money to Miss Simmons, though 
there is just a little sort of keepsake, as you 
might say, that I’ve left you. Now I want you to 
keep this paper and not to look at it till you know 
that I’m where money isn’t of any more use. 
A mighty queer sort of place that must be,” he 
added musingly. “ What folks find to do in 
heaven if they haven’t any politics there, and 
if there isn’t any such thing as making money, I 
can’t imagine. Well, the chances are that I’ll 
know all about that before you do, and I’ll wait 
till then.” 

“ My dear friend,” said Drewitt, you are 
not well. You’ve caught a touch of fever here. 
It isn’t like you to lose your courage and look 
forward to misfortune.” 

“ I’m not looking forward to any particular 
misfortune so far as I know,” replied Gallegher. 
“ The worst that can happen to me is that I may 
die here. Well, I’ve got to die sometime, and 
it don’t make so very much difference where and 
when it happens. If I could marry Kate and go 
back to Sallust City and go into politics once 
more, of course I should prefer it; but I as good 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


276 

as know that she’d never dream of marrying me, 
and the best thing I can do is to step out and 
leave her in a position to take the pick of all the 
men in England, for I reckon that with the 
money she’ll come into she won’t have any trou- 
ble in getting the first choice of a husband.” 

“ I won’t listen to you any longer,” said 
Drewitt, with an affectation of gaiety. “ The 
doctor is the man for you to see, provided he’s 
got any calomel or quinine in his pocket. Dear 
old man! For Heaven’s sake, cheer up! You’ve 
got to help me to find the woman that we are in 
search of. You gave me your word that you 
would do it, and I don’t feel any hope of success 
without you. We’ll all get away from here to- 
night, and the breeze will carry us out of sight of 
the island long before morning. We’ll be picked 
up in a few days and you’ll be able to go back to 
Sallust City and do what you like. Come, brace 
up! as you sometimes say to me. You’ve been 
the life of the entire company so far, and you 
can’t resign that post without permission. Be- 
sides, you’re the president of this republic, and 
by-the-bye, I should like to know what becomes 
of the republic when we leave the island. Do we 
take it with us or leave it behind? ” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


2/7 


'' That’s a legal question,” returned Galle- 
gher, “ and it’s never been raised before. Does 
a republic exist where the people are or where 
the land is? My own idea is that if we all leave 
here the Republic of Galleghania will be busted 
forever, and I shall be a private citizen again. 
Hold on! There’s Cumnor. He is going to 
stay, and consequently he’ll be the republic. He 
can vote himself into all sorts of offices and pass 
all kinds of laws. I hope he won’t give the 
suffrage to the leopards. That would be as 
bad a mistake as it was to give it to the nig- 
gers at home. Hullo! there’s the captain. 
What is it, captain; time to be getting the boat 
around? ” 

“ I’ve sent two men to do that,” replied 
the captain, “ and I’ve ordered everybody to 
assemble in the big house. We must get off 
at once.” 

'' Anything new turned up? ” asked Galle- 
gher, as he walked by the captain’s side. 

'' Only this,” replied the captain: “ Maxwell, 
the fellow whom I told you I didn’t altogether 
trust, is missing.” 

“ That means that he has decided to join the 
mutineers,” said Gallegher. 


2/8 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


It’s a bad lookout. He will be sure to tell 
them that we’ve got a boat, for it will be as much 
his interest as theirs to keep us from getting 
away.” 

He was here not five minutes ago,” said the 
captain, “ so if we are quick about it we may get 
away before he gives the alarm. There’s the 
boat just coming into the moonlight. If we are 
afloat in ten minutes we may get off unmo- 
lested.” 

The whole company had assembled by the 
captain’s orders in the larger of the two houses. 
The captain called the roll of names — a proceed- 
ing which struck Gallegher as a waste of time, 
although he submitted to it with his customary 
respect for the discipline of his vanished yacht. 
All were present except the missing sailor. 
Cumnor answered to his name, but reiterated his 
determination to remain behind. 

Now, let’s see how quick you can all get 
into that boat,” said Gallegher. “ Fll stop here 
until you’re all aboard, and the first six mutineers 
that try to rush this camp will have to reckon 
with my revolver.” 

That won’t do, Mr. Gallegher! ” exclaimed 
the captain. You can’t fight thirty-odd men 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


279 


with one revolver and six cartridges. It’s my 
place to be the last man aboard the boat, and I 
beg that you will be the first.” 

“ I rather believe, captain,” said Gallegher, 
“ that I’m running this republic, and that’s a 
good argument, even if you’re captain. I don’t 
say anything about being the proprietor of the 
yacht, though so long as one of her boats is 
afloat I suppose that belongs to me. You do as 
I say ! I shall stop and guard the passage through 
the rocks till you are all in the boat. Then give 
me a hail and I’ll join you.” 

I will stay with you,” cried Drewitt. “ Yotr 
shall not be left here alone.” 

‘‘ Might I ask what earthly use you would be 
without so much as a penknife to fight with? 
I’ve got the only revolver in the crowd, and I 
calculate I know how to use it. Thank you kind- 
ly, my boy, but you must get into that boat with 
the rest.” 

“ You’ll have Cumnor with you,” urged 
Drewitt, “ though he will be of no use since he 
isn’t armed.” 

‘‘ I doubt if he would be much use if he were 
armed,” said Gallegher, lowering his voice. 

Did you notice that the moment he heard that 


28 o 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Maxwell was missing he bolted for his own 
cabin? That doesn’t look as if there was much 
fight in him, does it? ” 

Drewitt saw that Gallegher’s mind was made 
up to remain until the last moment in order to 
cover the retreat of the rest. He therefore 
obeyed him, and gave his whole attention to the 
work of embarking the women. 

The boat could not approach close to the 
beach, owing to the shallowness of the water in 
the lagoon. She lay a few yards from the shore, 
and it was necessary that the women should be 
carried aboard by the men. This had been done, 
and the last man was entering the boat when Gal- 
legher cried in a mighty voice, Pull that boat 
out of gunshot instantly! ” 

But how are you to get aboard? ” replied 
the captain, hesitating to give the oarsmen the 
order to give way. 

“ What the hell is that to you? ” roared Gal- 
legher. “ Get those women out of gunshot. 
Damn your hesitating soul! ” 

The captain obeyed. Almost at the same 
moment Gallegher’s revolver cracked, and was 
answered by the louder report of rifles. Galle- 
gher was invisible to those in the boat, for he 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


281 


had made his stand in the narrow rock passage 
through which the mutineers must pass before 
they could come within sight of the boat. There 
were apparently but few rifles among the muti- 
neers, for after the third rifle-shot was heard 
there was a momentary pause, during which it is 
probable that the men were reloading their old- 
fashioned muzzle-loaders. Gallegher’s revolver 
was also silent for the same time, and Drewitt 
began to hope that he had successfully beaten 
back the attack. Then the revolver once more 
spoke. It was answered by three or four almost 
simultaneous rifle-shots, followed by a wild cheer 
from the mutineers. There was a confused 
sound of voices that grew momentarily louder, 
and then those in the boat could see that a crowd 
of men had entered the deserted camp and were 
rushing down to the beach. 

‘‘ Pull your liveliest, men! ” cried the captain. 

We can put that point of rocks between us and 
the scoundrels in a dozen more strokes, if you 
put your backs into it.’’ 

‘‘ But surely we are not going to desert Mr. 
Gallegher,” said Drewitt. 

“ We shall never see Mr. Gallegher again,” 
said the captain, with gloomy decision. “ He 


282 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


has died like the brave man that he was, and a 
braver never lived.” 

“ Why do you say he is dead? ” cried Mrs. 
Roberts. He may be a prisoner. I, for one, 
say let us go back and face anything if only we 
can save his life.” 

“ Gallegher’s pistol held six cartridges,” re- 
plied the captain, and we only heard him fire 
four of them. If he were alive and had a car- 
tridge left, do you suppose those fellows would 
ever have got past him? I know the man, and 
I’m as certain as I sit here that the mutineers we 
saw on the beach only got there by passing over 
his dead body.” 

The captain’s tone and reasoning were con- 
vincing. There seemed to be no possible chance 
that Gallegher was still alive. Even if there had 
been, all knew that the proposal to go to his aid 
was an impracticable one. To return to the 
beach would mean the capture and probably the 
death of the whole company. Gallegher had sac- 
rificed himself in order to save his companions. 
The one thing left for them to do was to strive to 
prevent that sacrifice from being fruitless. Drew- 
itt, and doubtless all his comrades in the boat, 
would gladly have risked their lives to save Gal- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


283 


legher, but it was madness to think of return- 
ing only to give themselves up as prisoners to 
men whose safety would require the death of all 
who could by any possibility become witnesses 
against them. 

The boat was now out of gunshot, having 
passed around a rocky point that jutted out into 
the lagoon, and once rounded formed a complete 
protection from the fire of the mutineers. The 
opening through the barrier reef that skirted that 
side of the island was close at hand, and in less 
than half an hour the boat was in the open sea, 
running rapidly to the southward before the light 
evening breeze. No one spoke for some time. 
The joy of escape had been killed by the tragedy 
of Gallegher’s death. A little later Mrs. Roberts 
suddenly said: It’s awful to think that the very 
last words we heard Mr. Gallegher speak were so 
terribly profane. It was the first time I ever 
heard him use profane language, and it must 
have been just before he died.” 

He certainly could not be called a profane 
man,” remarked the doctor. “ I never knew 
him to swear except in moments of extreme ex- 
citement, and then I doubt if he was fully aware of 
the expressions that he used. It is a curious thing 
19 


284 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


that when a man is in imminent peril his first im- 
pulse is to swear rather than to pray. One of the 
most thoroughly religious, not to say devout 
men I ever knew, was a captain in the army dur- 
ing the civil war, and a friend of mine who was 
in his company told me that when in action the 
captain swore horribly. What is even stranger 
is that he did not seem conscious of it, and no 
one ever dared to speak of the matter to him, not 
even when he was seriously lecturing his men on 
the sin and folly of profanity.” 

‘‘ Gallegher’s words meant nothing,” said 
Drewitt, “ except that he was profoundly moved. 
As for supposing that the nobility of his act in 
dying to save us was spoiled by the half dozen 
words he spoke, I hardly think that even a Salva- 
tionist could be so stupid as to hold such an 
opinion.” 

Drewitt had forgotten that there was a Sal- 
vationist in the boat, but Miss Simmons did not 
hesitate to remind him of the fact. I’m a Sal- 
vationist,” she exclaimed, ‘‘ but if I thought that 
Mr. Gallegher’s soul would be lost because he 
used language just before he died. I’d throw up 
my religion and make ready to go where he is 
gone. And what’s more, if there is anybody who 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


285 


thinks that the man who gave his life to save us is 
going to hell for letting slip a few strong words, 
then I pity that person.’^ 

Drewitt made no reply, but he reached across 
the boat and clasped the girl’s hand. Then si- 
lence fell once more upon the boat wandering 
in the immensity of the Pacific, and the night 
nestled softly down and wrapped the fugitives 
in its cool and calm embrace. 

Two days later the boat was picked up by the 
P. and O. steamer Afghan. 

The brief voyage had had its discomforts, but 
not its dangers. The sea had remained smooth, 
and the heat had not been intense. There had 
been no lack of provisions or of water, and if any 
fears had been felt no one had expressed them. 
When the smoke of the steamer had been seen 
on the eastern horizon, and it was plain from 
her course that she must intercept the boat, 
the sail was taken down, and the men lay on 
their oars, waiting for the moment when they 
should be sighted by the steamer. The latter 
had scarcely to alter her course in order to 
come up with the boat. As she drew near 
Drewitt saw that she was the Afghan, the very 
steamer on which, as he believed, the woman 


286 DREWITT’S DREAM 

of whom he was in search had so lately been a 
passenger. 

The work of transferring the rescued men and 
women to the deck occupied but a few moments. 
Then the boat was cast adrift, and the steamer 
panted on her way toward England. 

Drewitt took the earliest opportunity to see 
the purser and make inquiries as to the object of 
his search. The purser was an intelligent man 
with a phenomenal memory. It was natural 
that he should remember the incident of the 
stranding of the steamer in the Suez Canal some 
months before, but Drewitt was surprised to find 
that when he brought out the list of passengers 
on that occasion the man could readily recall the 
names and peculiarities of each one of them. 

What women came aboard at Brindisi? 
said the purser, in reply to Drewitt's question. 
''Here are their names: Mrs. Randolph, Mrs. 
Carey, Miss Craddock, and Miss Smith. Those 
were the only ones. Which one of them was 
your friend? ” 

" I am not quite certain,” replied Drewitt. 
" Could you describe the women to me? ” 

" Easily enough. Mrs. Randolph must have 
been seventy years old, if she was a day. Mrs. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


287 


Carey was a half-caste, a Eurasian, you under- 
stand; Miss Craddock was a fine-looking English 
woman of say twenty-five or twenty-eight, and 
Miss Smith was dying of consumption and was 
at least fifty years old.” 

“ Miss Craddock is the only one who could 
possibly have been the lady of whom I am in 
search,” replied Drewitt. “ Can you remember 
how she was usually dressed? ” 

That’s a difficult question to put to a man,” 
said the purser. “ It seems to me as if I recollect 
seeing her in a blue dress of some sort. At any 
rate, I can assure you she was a very handsome 
woman, and she kept herself apart from the other 
passengers, and would have nothing to say to the 
men. I made up my mind that she had some- 
thing more important on her mind than flirting, 
and I shouldn’t have been surprised if she had 
turned out to be a missionary. There are some 
mighty handsome women that are wasted, as I 
call it, in that way. But I hope that she wasn’t 
your friend.” 

“ Why so? ” asked Drewitt a little angrily, 
for he had already come to the conclusion that 
Miss Craddock must have been the woman whom 
he had pledged himself to find. 


288 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Because — now don’t take it too hard- — 
Miss Craddock fell overboard one dark night in 
the Red Sea, and we never knew that she was 
missing until the next morning after breakfast. 
I say she fell overboard, but all we knew was that 
she was missing.” 

And you never found her? ” cried Drewitt. 

Never! ” replied the purser. When peo- 
ple go overboard at sea in the middle of a dark 
night, and no one finds it out until the ship has 
run a matter of two hundred miles or so beyond 
the place where the accident happened, it isn’t 
worth while to go back to look for them. I hope 
the lady was no relation of yours, sir, but you 
asked me to tell you all I knew and I have 
done so.” 

“ Thank you,” said Drewitt, as he rose and 
left the purser. This, then, was the end of his 
romance. The woman whom he loved, and for 
whose sake he had undertaken the search that 
had ended in the death of poor Gallegher, was 
dead. He should never see her face again. 

Drewitt went over again the facts so far as 
he knew them. The Unknown had been on board 
a steamer that was aground in the canal on the 
19th of April. That steamer, he had every rea- 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


289 


son to believe, was the Afghan. If she had really 
been on board the Afghan on that date it was ex- 
tremely improbable, in fact almost impossible, 
that she had gone all the way from Greece to 
England, and there joined the steamer. Between 
the date when he met and lost her during that 
night of terror on the Greek frontier, and the date 
when the Afghan was aground in the canal, there 
were only twenty-eight days. It was true that it 
would have been humanly possible for her to 
have gone to England and there taken the Af- 
ghan for Sydney within that time, but in that 
case she would have had only one or two days 
at the furthest in England, and it seemed folly 
to imagine that she would have taken so long 
a journey only to make so short a stay. If, on 
the other hand, she had decided, after becoming 
separated from him, to go to Australia, the most 
natural thing would have been for her to take the 
steamer from the Piraeus to Brindisi, and there 
join the Afghan. If she had done this, she must 
have been one of the four English women whose 
names were on the passenger list as having come 
on board the ship at Brindisi. From what the 
purser had said it was certain that neither Mrs. 
Randolph, Mrs. Carey, nor Miss Smith was the 


290 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


Unknown, while on the other hand the descrip- 
tion which he had given of Miss Craddock was 
quite in keeping with his memory of the young 
woman in the blue dress by whose side he had 
fought and fallen. But Miss Craddock had 
either fallen overboard or had committed suicide. 
In either case she was dead, and Drewitt’s ro- 
mance was at an end. Again and again he went 
through this train of reasoning, vainly hoping 
that he might find some loophole which would let 
in the light of hope. Unsuccessful himself, he 
consulted with the doctor, but the latter only 
strengthened Drewitt’s certainty that the Un- 
known was dead. “ I am sorry, my dear fel- 
low,” said the doctor, “ but only one conclu- 
sion is possible. Gallegher would say the same if 
he were alive, and had he learned this news be- 
fore leaving Port Said he would never have en- 
tered on that journey to the Pacific which proved 
fatal to him. It’s all over, my boy, so far as 
your lost friend is concerned. I sympathize pro- 
foundly with you, but I have not been in practice 
for forty years without learning that words are 
terribly empty when one man tries to comfort 
another in sorrow.” 

Just before the Afghan entered the Indian 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


291 


Ocean one of Her Majesty’s cruisers was met 
and spoken. The captain of the Caucus was able 
to furnish the approximate situation of the island 
where Gallegher had met his death, and the offi- 
cer in command of the cruiser promised to make a 
search for it. Drewitt tried to obtain permission 
to accompany the cruiser, but was refused. He 
had not the slightest idea of finding Gallegher 
alive, but he was anxious to learn the particulars 
of his death and to witness the capture of his mur- 
derers. 

The little company of shipwrecked people 
were carried by the Afghan all the way to Eng- 
land. No one of them cared to shorten the voy- 
age by stopping at any of the ports where the 
steamer touched. The Americans were anxious 
to return home. Drewitt wished to see Miss 
Wynne, and to look for professional employment 
in London; and the captain and the other surviv- 
ing members of the ship’s company naturally 
wished to return as soon as possible to England. 
The voyage was pleasant and uneventful, but the 
rescued people were not in a mood to enjoy it. 
The tragic death of Gallegher could not be for- 
gotten, and its memory inevitably saddened 
them. Drewitt, in addition to the loss of his 


292 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


friend, was compelled to bear the crushing dis- 
appointment of knowing that his search for the 
Unknown had ended in failure, and that she had 
vanished from him forever. At London they 
landed and dispersed. Kate Simmons drove at 
once to the house of Miss Wynne. Drewitt went 
to an hotel, and the Americans, bidding him a 
hearty farewell, took the train for Southampton, 
where they hoped to be in time for the steamer 
that was to sail for New York the same after- 
noon. 

When Drewitt had seen the last of his com- 
panions depart, he felt that the whirlpool of 
London had closed over the first thirty years of 
his life, and that the past had sunk in the im- 
mense depths where hopes that have failed, hap- 
piness that has vanished, and love that is dead, 
rest out of sight and beyond recall. 

Drewitt still had sufficient money to last for 
a few weeks, but the absolute necessity of finding 
employment forced itself upon him. Neverthe- 
less he felt that before doing anything else he 
must find Miss Wynne. He knew her London 
address, and on the evening of his arrival he 
called upon her. Kate opened the door and 
greeted him gladly. He had not yet spoken to 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


293 


her of the contents of Gallegher’s will, which 
had made her a rich woman, for he had long ago 
decided that it would be better to let Miss Wynne 
break the news to her in her own way. His one 
fear was that if he himself told Kate that Galle- 
gher had made her his heiress, she would refuse 
to accept the dead man’s gift. 

When Miss Wynne entered the drawing- 
room and greeted him, Drewitt felt at once her 
calming influence. She carried peace with her. 
Into her presence the lesser worries of life never 
ventured to intrude, and even the sorrows that 
wring the heart were at least temporarily soothed. 
When with her Drewitt felt that he had left the 
world far away. It was as if he had sailed from a 
stormy sea into a quiet anchorage, where even 
the rumour of the storm could not be heard. He 
thought of the. scriptural expression, “ The shad- 
ow of a great rock in a weary land.” It seemed 
absurd to compare the frail woman to a vast, im- 
movable rock, but he knew that he could rest in 
the cooling shadow of her presence in the same 
way that the desert traveller rests in the shadow 
of a rock. 

I have heard all about your misfortune,” 
said Miss Wynne. '' Kate tells me that you have 


294 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


certain evidence that the woman whom you went 
to find is dead. It may be true, but I do not be- 
lieve it. It has been so firmly borne in upon me 
that you will find her, that I can not accept the 
news of her death as final. Tell me yourself all 
that you think you know about it.” 

Drewitt told her what he had learned on 
board the Afghan, and the train of reasoning that 
had forced him to believe that the Unknown was 
dead. 

“ In any other circumstances I should agree 
with you,” said Miss Wynne, but as it is I still 
believe that she is alive. You have mistaken the 
steamer on which I saw her, or if she was really 
on board the Afghan you have failed to identify 
her. Did I not tell you that God had given you 
to one another? He does not give merely to 
take away. She is alive, and you will yet find her. 
I even think it possible that I know who she is.” 

'' I can not agree with you,” said Drewitt. 
“ If I could I would always think as you do con- 
cerning everything. You are so infinitely above 
me, and I have such absolute confidence in you, 
that I would willingly sit at your feet and learn 
like a child, if I could. But I can not put aside 
evidence which, to me, is conclusive, even at 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


295 

your bidding. If I could I should join the Salva- 
tionists to-morrow.” 

Your impulses are always right,” replied 
Miss Wynne. '' It is your reason that misleads 
you. But I shall save you yet. I know it! You 
were sent to me, and I must give an account for 
your soul. But just now we will not speak of 
religious things. I told you that it was possible 
that I knew the very woman who was with you 
that night in Greece. When I say that I know 
her, I mean that I think I know who she is, 
though I have never spoken to her. I want you 
to go with me to-morrow to a meeting in 
Knightsbridge Hall. There you will see the 
woman I mean, and if she proves to be a com- 
plete stranger to you, no harm will have been 
done. Come for me here at two o’clock to-mor- 
row and we will go together. Don’t feel too 
hopeful as to the result. Of course, the chances 
are that I am mistaken, but the experiment is 
worth trying.” 

Drewitt had little or no hope that Miss 
Wynne was right in her belief that the Unknown 
still lived, but he gladly consented to accompany 
her. He did not love her as he believed a man 
should love the woman whom he would marry. 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


296 

but he surely loved her in a way. He felt that 
she was his good angel. He reverenced her, and 
he loved her presence. The touch of her hand 
did not thrill him, but it calmed him. He knew 
instinctively that in any sorrow he would turn 
to her with certainty of finding comfort and 
support. 

Who is this woman whom you wish me to 
see? he asked, feeling that he had hardly shown 
sufficient interest in the matter, in view of Miss 
Wynne’s unselfish wish to help him. 

She is a lady who uses her wealth for philan- 
thropic purposes. Don’t be alarmed. She is not 
a reformer and not a Salvationist. She is simply a 
woman with a good heart and a clear head, whose 
pleasure it is to help others. She went to Greece 
during the war to investigate the condition of 
the hospitals, and to see what the English nurses 
were doing. It was her intention, I presume, to 
aid the hospital and ambulance fund in case she 
was satisfied with what she saw there. That is 
really all I can tell you about her. I know her 
only by sight and reputation, for I have never had 
any sufficient reason for making her acquaint- 
ance.” 

“ Have you ever heard,” pursued Drewitt, 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


297 

“ that this lady was present at the time of the 
panic in which I was caught? ’’ 

“ No/' replied Miss Wynne. I merely 
know that she was in Greece during the latter 
part of the war. I saw her for the first time 
yesterday, and from her appearance it struck me 
that she might be the woman whom I photo- 
graphed on the steamer in the canal. But you 
shall see her yourself, and then I shall know that 
I have done what I could to help you." 

“ Thank you," said Drewitt simply. His 
voice choked as he spoke. He longed to tell 
Miss Wynne how deeply he reverenced her, and 
how warmly he appreciated her interest in him, 
but his British reserve and a slight fear that he 
might forget himself, as he had forgotten himself 
that day in Venice, made him dumb. 

Presently he said: “ I must tell you what Gal- 
legher did that night when we lost him. He 
gave me this will that he had made that day, and 
I have it with me now." 

“ I hope you will benefit by it," said Miss 
Wynne. “ Money is the most potent means of 
doing good, and I am sure you would use it 
wisely if you had it." 

‘‘ Gallegher merely left me a small legacy as a 


298 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


mark of friendship. He left nearly all his prop- 
erty to Kate Simmons. She will be a very rich 
woman, and I have left it to you to tell her the 
news.” 

“ You did quite right,” said Miss Wynne. 

Tell me why Mr. Gallegher did this. Was it 
possible that he cared for Kate? ” 

He wanted to marry her, though he never 
said a word to her on the subject. He thought 
himself unfit for her, and I doubt if he would ever 
have spoken to her if he had lived.” 

*‘You are sure that she knows nothing of 
this? ” 

Nothing whatever, so far as Gallegher’s will 
is concerned. Whether or not she knew that the 
man cared for her I am wholly unable to say.” 

I must ask you not to speak to her or to 
any one about the will, until I have thought the 
matter over. Of course the girl must be told, 
for it would be dishonest not to tell her, but I 
fear the effect of sudden wealth upon her undis- 
ciplined nature. I want to find some way of 
making her feel thoroughly that such a legacy is 
given to her in trust, and that it must not inter- 
fere with her spiritual growth. You can trust me 
to do what is right in the matter? ” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


299 


“ Trust you! ’’ exclaimed Drewitt. ‘‘ I would 
trust you with anything — with my life, my hap- 
piness, and my soul. You know that? ” 

“ Yes, I think so,” said Miss Wynne simply. 

If I did not I should feel that there was no rea- 
son to believe that I could do you good, and God 
knows that I have no other motive so far as you 
are concerned.” 

She sat silent for a moment, and then re- 
sumed. There was a time when another mo- 
tive made me anxious to help you. I will not 
suppose that you have forgotten what happened 
between us in Venice. For a little while you 
dragged me back to earth and made me know 
how other women who lived in and for this world 
feel. I never blamed you for an instant. Doubt- 
less there was something in my manner which 
tempted you. But that is over now. With the 
help of God, I have won the battle. I can now 
tell you truthfully that I love you as a soul in 
peril who has been committed to my charge. I 
can help you to find the woman whom you love 
without a pang of jealousy. And I know that 
you will never again misunderstand me, nor for- 
get that I am, what a nun would call herself — a 
bride of Heaven.” 


20 


CHAPTER X 

The meeting at Knightsbridge Hall was one 
of a series organized by those sanguine and imag- 
inative people who believe that war can be abol- 
ished by legislative resolution, and that nations 
who are ready and anxious to fight for their in- 
terests will surrender those interests meekly at 
the bidding of an arbitrator who has no means 
of enforcing such bidding. Drewitt felt little 
sympathy with the methods of those who were 
responsible for the meeting, and he had next to 
no hope that he would find the Unknown among 
those present. The only pleasure he anticipated 
was that of being with Miss Wynne. As the two 
drove together on their way to Knightsbridge 
he felt the fascination of her presence growing 
always stronger upon him. She looked as if she 
were in better health than she had been when 
they met in Venice. She was dressed in a way 
that he could not for the life of him have de- 


300 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


301 


scribed, but which appealed powerfully to his 
sense of fitness and beauty. A faint scent of vio- 
lets accompanied her, and Drewitt felt instinc- 
tively that it was the only perfume that harmo- 
nized with her. She filled the shabby four-wheeler 
with purity and peace. He wished to take her in 
his arms, not because she was a woman, but be- 
cause she was a saint. He longed to cling to the 
hem of her garments that she might draw him 
with her to a higher and purer life. He was more 
than ever ready to obey her in all things, with the 
devout obedience that the devotee offers to the 
Blessed Virgin. 

The hall was filled when Drewitt and his com- 
panion entered. He had already learned that 
Miss Boulton, the lady of whom Miss Wynne had 
spoken to him, would not take an active part in 
the meeting. The knowledge was an immense 
relief to his mind. Although he had not thought 
it unwomanly for a woman to fight at his side 
against the Turks, he could not reconcile himself 
to the thought that the same woman might 
speak in public in behalf of peace. But Miss 
Boulton never, so he was assured, took part in 
public discussions, and was not classed as a re- 
former. She was, however, a lover of peace, 


302 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


and was always ready to support the cause by the 
adhesion of her presence. 

Drewitt and Miss Wynne were seated to- 
gether not far from the door, where they could 
see every one who entered. Miss Wynne had 
closely scrutinized the audience on first entering 
the hall, and assured Drewitt that Miss Boulton 
had not yet arrived. The hall was a small one, 
and it would have been difficult for any person 
in it to have remained out of sight. Drewitt be- 
came convinced that his companion had made a 
mistake, and that she would be unable to show 
him any one whose presence could stir his pulses. 

The meeting was opened by a member of 
Parliament, who took the chair. Just as he had 
finished his brief address, Miss Wynne touched 
Drewitt's arm and whispered, “ There she is.’’ 

It was she. There could not be a shadow of a 
doubt that the woman who passed up the aisle, 
almost within touch of him, was she whom he 
had sought half-way around the world. She was 
dressed in white, instead of the blue with which 
his memory had associated her, but the cross still 
hung from her neck. Her beauty was as bright 
and compelling as ever. Her expression, though 
it was calmer and more peaceful than it had been 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


303 


during the terror of the panic and the hour of 
flight and combat, was still essentially the same. 
She did not notice his presence as she made her 
way to her seat. He wondered how it was pos- 
sible that he could sit immovable while the 
breath of air set in motion by her passing skirts 
fanned his face. 

‘‘ Yes,” he said, you were right. It is 
she.” 

Miss Wynne took his hand in hers for an in- 
stant and pressed it gently. You see,” she said, 
‘‘ that I am always right when I attempt to 
guide you. That is one of the reasons why I 
know that I have been sent to you for a purpose. 
Trust me when I say that some day you will see 
that for yourself.” 

‘‘ How could she have passed so near me 
without feeling that I was here? ” asked Drewitt. 

I should have felt her presence if I had been 
deaf and blind.” 

Wait till the meeting is over,” said his 
friend gently. You shall then speak with her. 
Don’t permit any fancies to mar your happiness. 
If the story that you have told me was not all 
a dream, you can not doubt how she will receive 
you when once she knows that you are alive and 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


304 

at her side. And it could not all have been a 
dream, or you would not have recognised her.” 

The meeting seemed endless to the impatient 
young man. The dreariness of the speakers was 
intolerable. At that moment there was but one 
thought in his mind — the thought that when the 
meeting should wear itself out he would once 
more clasp the hand that he had held in his when 
battle and murder and sudden death were all 
around them. In comparison with the thought 
that he was to meet her once more, questions of 
peace or war were trivial to him. He knew that 
he would not care if all Europe were to be 
plunged in war, if thereby the wearisome wait- 
ing for the close of the meeting could be short- 
ened. 

Even a peace meeting where women speak, 
and professional male philanthropists display 
the resources of tediousness with which Nature 
has endowed them, must come to an end. Late 
in the afternoon the meeting was dissolved. 
Drewitt stood up, eagerly watching every wom- 
an who passed him on the way to the door. In 
the crowd of men and women standing among 
the seats and struggling down the aisle he had 
lost sight of Miss Boulton, and was beginning to 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


305 


fear that she had slipped out some other way, 
but when the audience was thinned at last he 
saw her speaking with one of the secretaries. 

“ I will leave you here,” said Miss Wynne. 

I don’t in the least mind going home alone, 
and besides, I have some errands of my own to 
attend to.” 

Drewitt thanked her, scarcely knowing what 
he said, and she quietly vanished. 

Miss Boulton’s conversation with the secre- 
tary was over at last, and she came down the 
aisle quite alone. The secretary had already van- 
ished by a door on the platform, and Drewitt 
and Miss Boulton were alone in the hall. 

He sprang toward her with outstretched 
hands. “ At last ! ” he cried. “ It is you, my 
love! my darling! my life! You have risen from 
the dead for me.” 

She stopped and remained perfectly still. 
She was undeniably startled, as Drewitt saw by 
the colour that rushed into her face and then 
vanished completely, but she gave no other sign 
of being frightened. 

What do you mean? ” she demanded in a 
cold voice. “ I do not know you.” 

You do not know me! ” echoed Drewitt in 


3o6 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


amazement. ‘‘ You have forgotten the night 
when I took you on my horse, and when ’’ 

‘‘ Now I recognise you,’' she replied. “ It 
was you who helped me to escape from that hor- 
rible crowd. Forgive me! You startled me, and 
I had thought that you were dead.” 

“ And I thought that you were dead,” replied 
Drewitt, standing in shocked rigidity. It was 
all that he could say for the moment. The 
throng of passionate exclamations, of wild ap- 
peals, that crowded to his lips, seemed to choke 
him. 

'' I never dreamed of seeing you alive again,” 
she said, after an instant’s pause. “ When you 
fell you seemed quite dead. They told me that 
you were killed instantly, and though I tried to 
rouse you, I could not see a sign of life. Your 
escape must have been a miracle.” 

And is that all you can say to me? ” pleaded 
Drewitt. 

'' I can only say that you were very brave and 
noble in trying to help me, and that I am heartily 
glad that you are still alive.” 

“ And you have forgotten how we fought 
side by side, and how you clung to me in those 
last moments and swore that our souls should 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


307 


never be parted! You loved me then. Can you 
have changed so completely in these few 
months? ” 

Again she showed that she apprehended 
danger or insult from him, but he could see in 
her eyes the same courage that shone when death 
stared them in the face. 

“ I must ask you to let me pass,” she said 
quietly. “ I do not in the least understand what 
you say. Certainly I never gave you any right to 
speak to me in such terms. I trust that if we 
meet again you will not forget yourself, for I 
wish to keep the very sincere gratitude that I 
have always felt toward you. Will you kindly 
permit me to pass? ” 

She walked resolutely past him. He did not 
venture to offer her his hand, or to say “ Good 
afternoon.” He was stunned by her cold treach- 
ery. This was she whose arms had been around 
his neck when the Turks fired their last volley! 
This was she who had spoken such passionate 
words of love and trust! And now she could 
calmly ignore all that had passed, and coldly tell 
him that she could not understand what he said.” 

He did not go out of the hall for several min- 
utes. He sat down and rested his head on his 


3o8 drewitt’s dream 

hands. He felt weak and dazed. He found him- 
self wishing that he or she, or both, had died on 
the battlefield instead of surviving only to bring 
upon him such bitter and unendurable disap- 
pointment. 

You can’t stop here, sir,” said a voice in his 
ear. This ain’t no church, and we don’t keep 
open for prayer and meditation.” 

Drewitt meekly rose up and went out. He 
called a cab and ordered the driver to take him to 
his hotel. Then he shrank from the grim loneli- 
ness of his room. To go back there would be 
like returning from a funeral to the empty house. 
Then he thought of Miss Wynne, and drove 
straight to her house. 

She had just come in and had not yet laid 
aside her hat. The moment she saw Drewitt she 
knew that some catastrophe had happened, but 
she asked him no questions. She took him by 
the hand, led him to the sofa, and sat down be- 
side him, still holding his hand. 

“ She knows me,” he said presently, but she 
will have nothing to do with me. She did not 
even take my hand, and she said that she did not 
understand what I said to her. She left me with- 
out even asking me to call upon her! ” 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


309 


“ I do not know what it means,” said Miss 
Wynne. “ She is surely not the kind of woman 
who would change in a day. You are certain that 
she knew you? ” 

“ Quite certain. She spoke of having been 
with me when I was shot, and said that she had 
supposed that I was dead, but she did not show 
any joy at finding me alive. It is all over. She 
is ashamed of having told me that she loved me, 
and she does not want to see me again.” 

‘‘ You must go home now and rest,” said 
Miss Wynne soothingly. '' You are very tired, 
and you will be ill if you do not take care of your- 
self. There is a mystery in this matter, and I will 
solve it. Leave it to me. Come back here this 
evening, and by that time I shall have something 
to tell you which will explain Miss Boulton’s 
conduct. I am sure of this. Trust me once more, 
and we will see what I can do for you. Now 
go at once, for I must go to see Miss Boulton, 
and she lives quite at the other end of the town 
— a long way from here.” 

Drewitt thanked her, and like a child prom- 
ised to obey her in all things. He drove to his 
hotel, and throwing himself on the bed fell almost 
immediately asleep. He was as exhausted as if 


310 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


he had marched all day under a hot sun, and he 
knew how soldiers feel who drop from the ranks 
in a forced march. 

When he awoke he felt thoroughly refreshed. 
He no longer looked upon his inexplicable inter- 
view with Miss Boulton from the standpoint of 
despair. Miss Wynne was right. There must 
be some explanation of Miss Boulton’s conduct 
which would be consistent with his previous 
knowledge of her. Though it seemed as if this 
were impossible, he still pinned his faith to Miss 
Wynne. She had promised to clear up the mys- 
tery, and he knew that what she promised she 
would perform. His spirits rose in a way that 
he knew was unreasonable. He felt vaguely, yet 
surely, that all would yet be right. Miss Wynne 
was on his side. He looked for a miracle from 
her. He had the complete unreasoning faith 
which believes that black can become white with- 
out changing its colour. 

After dinner Drewitt hastened to Miss 
Wynne’s house. He was shown into the drawing- 
room by Kate Simmons, with the assurance that 
Miss Wynne would see him in a few moments. 
He noticed that the girl was dressed in mourn- 
ing, and he knew without being told that it was 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


3II 

for Gallegher. Miss Wynne had unquestionably 
told her of Gallegher’s will, and the girl was try- 
ing to show her gratitude to the dead man in 
the only way that was as yet possible. That she, 
knowing herself to be the heiress of millions, 
should still hold a servant's position in Miss 
Wynne's house did not strike him as strange. He 
fully understood that to be with Miss Wynne 
would in the girl's estimation constitute the 
highest honour and happiness that earth could 
offer. 

When Miss Wynne entered, Drewitt saw at 
once that she brought him good news. There 
was the light of joy and triumph in her face. She 
came swiftly to him and said: 

I have seen her, and now I do not wonder 
that you love her. I have found the key of the 
mystery, and you shall have it in a moment." 

She sat down beside him, and said: “Do 
you remember that when I first met you and we 
spoke of your adventure in Greece, you believed 
that it was all a dream? Then when you found 
the photograph you believed that instead of be- 
ing a dream it was true from beginning to end? 
You were wrong on both occasions. It was 
neither wholly dream nor wholly reality." 


312 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


“ Tell me the whole truth at once, I beg,'’ 
cried Drewitt. You say that it was not all a 
dream. What part of it was true? " 

“ All that happened up to the time when you 
turned out of the road into the field. You had 
met Miss Boulton, and she was riding behind 
you on your horse. You told me that the horse 
was shot almost as soon as you entered the field. 
That was true, but you were wounded at the same 
time. You lay insensible on the ground until the 
Turks came up. They carried off Miss Boulton 
and left you for dead. Afterward you must have 
been found by some peasant, or possibly by 
Greek soldiers, who, seeing signs of life in you, 
carried you into the hut where you were after- 
ward found by the ambulance corps." 

“ Then the defence of the block-house was a 
dream? " 

“ Only a dream. During the fever that fol- 
lowed your wound you dreamed the whole of 
that strange adventure. You were never at the 
block-house, and of course Miss Boulton never 
shared in its defence with you. Now do you un- 
derstand why your conduct seemed so strange 
to her this afternoon? " 

Not yet," replied Drewitt. ‘‘ I said nothing 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


313 

to her to-day about the block-house episode. I 
merely reminded her of our ride together."' 

“ But you spoke as an accepted lover might 
speak, and reminded her of incidents that existed 
only in your dream. Consider this! You never 
spoke of love to her 'while you were with her in 
the midst of the panic, and she certainly never 
gave you then, or at any time, permission so to 
speak. You can then imagine her surprise when 
you spoke to her to-day as if she had fully ac- 
knowledged a passion for you as intense as that 
which you felt for her.’" 

“ And I never held her in my arms? Never 
kissed her? Never heard her say she loved 
me?” 

“ Never! All that was part of your dream. 
The reality was that you saved her from being 
trampled and crushed by the mob, and that she 
was and is very grateful to you for it.” 

Drewitt remained silent for a few moments. 
He was not sure that this new discovery was not 
even more painful than the frigid reception which 
Miss Boulton had given him. He had then 
wasted months in the vain search for a will-o’-the- 
wisp. He had been searching for a woman who 
loved him. He had found only a woman who 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


314 

was grateful to him, but nothing more. The dis- 
appointment was crushing. 

“ Now you know all the facts,” said Miss 
Wynne, after waiting in vain for Drewitt to 
speak. ‘‘ When I saw Miss Boulton, a little while 
ago, I told her your dream, and assured her that 
you firmly believed it to be true. She perfectly 
understands why you addressed her as you did, 
and how strangely cold and repellent you must 
have thought her. Her first impression was that 
you were out of your mind, and you can hardly 
wonder at it. Now she has, of course, abandoned 
that fancy. She has every confidence in your 
discretion, and wishes to see you in order to 
prove to you that she fully appreciates what you 
did for her. Will you see her? ” 

Certainly,” replied Drewitt. I loved her 
before that dream came to mix itself so cruelly 
with my memory. I love her now, although I am 
nothing to her. I shall love her always, no mat- 
ter how hopeless my love may be.” 

Then I will leave you for a moment. Stay 
here until I return.” 

Miss Wynne did not return at once. When 
the door again opened Drewitt saw entering the 
woman of his dream. She came in slowly, as if 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


315 


a little doubtful of what her reception would be, 
but there was a bright smile on her face, and 
Drewitt knew that she no longer feared- him. 
He came to meet her and they clasped hands 
warmly. Each waited for the other to speak. 

'' You must have thought me mad when I 
spoke to you to-day,'' said Drewitt. 

“ I certainly did," she replied, “ but that de- 
lusion vanished when Miss Wynne so kindly 
came to see me." 

There was another pause, and then she said, 
“ Miss Wynne tells me that you started on a voy- 
age around the world in search of me, merely 
because you saw a photograph of me on her 
table." 

It is true. The photograph, however, mis- 
led me, for it seemed to prove that you had been 
a passenger on board a steamer going to Sydney, 
and when I fancied that I had identified you with 
one of the passengers I was told that she had 
fallen overboard and was drowned in the Red 
Sea." 

I never saw the Red Sea. I did sail from 
Port Said to Ismailia, on board a steamer that 
ran aground, but I was on my way to Cairo, and 
not to Australia." 


21 


3i6 


DREWITT'S DREAM 


Am I to lose you again?” asked Drewitt, 
abruptly. “ Or will you let me come to see 
you? ” 

“ I should be very sorry indeed to lose your 
friendship,” she replied. “ I won’t annoy you 
with protestations of gratitude, but I can never 
forget that you saved my life, and acted toward 
me that night as a brave Englishman might be 
expected to act.” 

I warn you,” said Drewitt, “ that while I 
shall strive to remember that you are not respon- 
sible for my dreams, I can not forget them, and 
I shall never separate you in thought from the 
woman by whose side I fancied that I fought, 
and whose arm was around me when, as I be- 
lieved, we were both shot down.” 

‘‘ I don’t wish you to forget anything. I am 
no longer afraid of you. You will never say or 
do anything that is unworthy of you.” 

“ It was all a dream. I know that,” pursued 
Drewitt. “ Still there was one thing which sure- 
ly was not a dream. When you asked to ride 
with me, I answered: * Yes; but it must be for- 
ever.’ Do you remember that? ” 

Yes,” said Miss Boulton softly. 

“ And you looked me straight in the face 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


317 


and replied, ^ It shall be/ Is that part of my 
dream? For Heaven’s sake don’t tell me that 
it was.” 

She drew closer to him. Once again she 
looked straight into his eyes, and he saw the 
woman who had called to him for help in the 
midst of the panic. She put both her hands in 
his and repeated softly and slowly, “ It shall be 
forever.” 

Miss Wynne did not return to the room until 
late in the evening. She had accurately foreseen 
the result of the meeting between Drewitt and 
Miss Boulton, and she knew that her presence 
would not be missed. Ten o’clock was approach- 
ing, and Drewitt sadly perceived the necessity of 
bringing his stay to a close, when there was a 
scream of joy in the front hall, mingled with what 
sounded very much like a scuffle, and in another 
moment Gallegher strode into the room. 

‘‘Hullo! You here!” he shouted to Drew- 
itt, clasping the young man’s hand in his and 
squeezing it until the bones nearly cracked. 
“ Beg your pardon, ma’am! ” he said, “ I hope I 
ain’t disturbing you, but I’ve just landed in Eng- 
land, and this gentleman’s a particular friend of 


3i8 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


mine. I didn't really know as I’d ever see him 
again.” 

‘‘ I am delighted to see you,” said Drewitt. 
** I had given you up for lost. How in the world 
did you escape? ” 

It was a middling close call,” replied Galle- 
gher. ‘‘ You see, after I had dropped with a 
couple of bullets in me, and my revolver knocked 
out of my hand, I calculated that my best hold 
would be to lie there and let the mutineers think 
that I was dead. I calculated that they would find 
out I wasn’t, and would kill me when they got 
good and ready, but I wanted to postpone that 
operation as long as possible. Before they got 
through firing at the boat, and were ready to 
attend to my case, Cumnor turned up at the head 
of a gang of leopards and just cleaned out the 
lot. It reminded me of nothing so much as the 
way I once saw a gang of Tammany roughs break 
up an Abolition meeting in New York. There 
were a good half dozen of the beasts, and they 
went to work like so many Christians, knocking 
over the mutineers right and left. They laid out 
about half of them, and the rest bolted for their 
lives. I had been thinking that Cumnor had 
gone back on us, but don’t you believe it. He’s 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


319 

all right, and I owe my life to him and his leop- 
ards.” 

But how did you get away from the is- 
land? ” asked Drewitt. 

“ Oh, by the time that Cumnor had fixed my 
wounds there came along a British man-of-war 
and gathered in what the leopards had left of the 
mutineers. They gave me and Cumnor passage 
to Ceylon, where we caught a steamer for Brin- 
disi and came bang through to London by train. 
I made Cumnor a handsome offer to bring over a 
gang of leopards to America to be used as politi- 
cal arguments. With him to manage them, 
there ain^t a Republican meeting anywhere, no 
matter how big it might be, that couldnT be 
broken up in five minutes. But he didn’t see it. 
He hasn’t any political ambition, though he is a 
first-class man, and don’t you forget it. 

I heard from the captain of the man-of-war 
that you and the rest of the folks were all right. 
I wish they hadn’t been in such a hurry to get 
away from here, for I should have liked to have 
met them once more. However, I’ll see them 
at home, for I’m going straight back to Sallust 
City to enter the political arena once more. 
This not having anything to do but to prac- 


320 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


tice millionairing don’t agree with my consti- 
tution.” 

I think I know^ what you came to this house 
for,” said Drewitt. 

If you don’t know you’re not the man I 
took you to be,” replied Gallegher sturdily. 
“ Oh, here’s Miss Wynne. Glad to see you, 
ma’am. I took the liberty of coming here to find 
Miss Simmons, and to pay my respects to you.” 

“ You are, I presume, Mr. Gallegher,” re- 
plied Miss Wynne, smiling. ‘‘ I am very glad to 
meet you, and so I imagine is some one else, judg- 
ing from the welcome she gave you.” 

“ Meaning Miss Simmons, ma’am? I hope 
you’re right. I rather calculate that she won’t be 
Miss Simmons much longer, provided you don’t 
object. I don’t believe she’d die, let alone get 
married, without your full approval.” 

We will see about the latter, Mr. Galle- 
gher,” returned Miss Wynne. “ I certainly shall 
not stand in Kate’s light. Now let me introduce 
you to Miss Boulton. She has heard of you, and 
knows that it was in your yacht that Mr. Drewitt 
set out to search for her.” 

“ Do you mean to tell me that you have 
found her after all? ” cried Gallegher, turning to 


DREWITT’S DREAM 


321 


Drewitt, without addressing the lady to whom 
he had been presented. 

'' I have found her,” said Drewitt simply. 
He could say no more, for he knew that he had 
found the woman of his dream, as well as the 
woman whom he had aided to escape from the 
panic-stricken Greeks. 

“ If you’ll excuse me, ma’am,” said Galle- 
gher, shaking hands with Miss Boulton, “I’ll say 
that I’m about as glad to see you as Drewitt is 
himself. And now, if you all don’t mind. I’ll just 
step out on the pavement and free my mind. I 
don’t swear, as a general thing, but things have 
been happening in the last ten minutes at such a 
rate that I’ve got to say something or break a 
blood-vessel. This is altogether the damnedest. 
New Jerusalem, Hail Columbia day I ever struck. 
I beg your pardon, ladies. I’ll just go across the 
street to where that blue electric light is, and talk 
to it till it sees the folly of competition with me. 
Good night, everybody. I’ve not got a minute 
to lose.” 


THE END 


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J. Sturgis. 

222. A Colonial Free-Lance. By C. C. 

Hotchkiss. 

223. His Maiesty'n Greatest Subject. By 

S. S. Thorburn. 


APPLETONS’ TOWN AND COUNTRY lABRAKY.— {Continued.') 


234. Mifanwy : A 'Weleh Singer. By A. 
Kaine. 

225. A Soldier of Manhattan. By J. A. 

226. Fortune's FoothaUs. By G. B. 

Burg IN. 

227. The Clash of Arms. ByJ. Bloun- 

delle-Burton. 

228. God's Foundling. By A. J. Daw- 

son. 

229. Miss Providence. By D. Gerard. 

230. The Freedom of Henry Meredyth. 

By M. Hamilton. 

231. Sweethearts and Friends. By M. 

Gray. 

232. Sunset. By B, Whitby. 

233. A Fiery Ordeal. By Tasma. 

234. A Prince gf Mischance. ByT. Gal- 

lon. 

235. A Passionate Pilgrim. By P. 

White. 

236. This Little World. By D. C. Mur- 

RAIT 

237. A Forgotten Sin. By D. Gerard. 

238. The Incidental Bishop. By G. 

239. The Lake of Wine. By B. Capes. 

240. A Trooper of the Empress. By C. 

Ross. 

341. Tom Sails. By A. Raine. 

242. Materfamilias. By A. Cambridge. 

243. John of Strathbourne. By R. D. 

Chex^^odb 

344. The Millionaires. By F. P. Moore. 

245. The Looms of Time. By Mrs. H. 

Fraser 

246. The Queen's Cup. By G. A. Henty. 

247. Dicky Monteith. ^ T. Gallon. 

248. The Lust of Hate. ByG. Boothby. 

249. The Gospel Writ in Steel. By Ar- 

thur Paterson. 

250. The Widower. By W. E. Norris. 

251. The Scourge of God. By J. 

Bi/)undelle-Burton. 

252. Concerning Isabel Carnaby. By 

Ellen Thorneycropt Fowler. 
2.53. The Impediment. By D. Gerard. 

254. Belinda— and Some Others. By 

Ethel Maude. 

255. The Key of the Holy House. By 

Albert Lee. 

256. A Writer of Books. ByG.PASTON. 

257. The Knight of the Gdden Chain. 

By R. D. Chetwode. 

258. Bicroft of Withens. By Halli- 

WELL SUTCLirPE. 

259. The Procession of Life. By Hor- 

ace A. Vachell. 

200. By Berwen Banks. By A. Raine. 

261. Pharos, the Egyptian. By Guy 

Boothby. 

262. Payd Carah. Cornishman. By 

Charles Lee. 


263. Pursued by the Law. By 3. Mao- 

Laren Cobban. 

264. Madame Izdn. By Mrs. Camp- 

bell- I*raed. 

365. Fortune's my Foe. By J. Bloun- 
delle-Burton. 

266. A Cosmopolitan Comedy. By 

Anna Robeson Brown. 

267. The Kingdom of Hate. By T. 

Gallon. 

268. The Game and the Candle. By 

Rhoda Broughton. 

369. Dr. Mikola's Exgperiment. By 

Guy Boothby. 

270. The Strange Story of Hester 

Wynne. By G. Colmore. 

271. Lady Barbarity. ByJ. C. Snaith. 

272. A Bitter Heritage. By John 

Bloundelle-Burton. 

273. The Heiress of the Season. By Sir 

William Magnay, Bart. 

274. A Voyage at Anchor. By W. 

Clare Russell. 

275. The Idol of the Blind. By T. 

Gallon. 

276. A Comer of the West. By Edith 

Henrietta Fowler. 

277. The Story of Bonald Kestrel. By 
A. J. Dawson. 

278. The 'World's Mercy. By M. Gray. 

279. The GenUemam Pensioner. By 

Albert Lee. 

280. A Maker of Nations. By Guy 

Boothby. 

281. Mirry-Ann. By Norma Lorimer. 

282. The Immortal Garland. By Anna 

Robeson Brown. 

283. Garthowen. By Allen Raine. 

284. The Lunatic at Large. By J. 

Storer Clouston. 

286. The Seafarers. By John Bloun- 
delle-Burton. 

286. The Minister's Guest. By Isabel 

Smith. 

287. The Last Sentence. By M. Gray. 
2^. Br&wn of Lost River. By Mary 

E. Stickney. 

289. The Jay-Hawkers. By Adela E. 

Orpen. 

290. The Flower of the Flock. By W. 

E. Norris. 

291. A Private Chivalry. By Francis 

292. King Stork of the N^etherlands. 

By Albert Lee. 

293. Path and Goal. By Ada Cam- 

bridge. 

294. My Indian Queen. By Guy 

Boothby. 

295. A Hero in Homespun. By Wm. E. 

Barton. 

296. A Royal Erchange. By J. Mao 

Laren Cobban. 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK, 


APPLETONS’ TOWN AND COUNTRY hlWBARY. --{Continued.) 


297. The Claim Jumpers. By Stewart 
Edward White. 

238. 2'he Mystery of the Clasped Hands. 
By Gdt Boothby. 

299. From the Unsounded Sea. By 

Nellie K. Blissett. 

300. The Seal of Silence. By Arthur 

R. Conder. 


301. Four-Leaved Clover. By Max- 

well Gray. 

302. A Woman Alone. By Mrs. W. K. 

CLirroRD. 

303. When Love Flies Out o’ the Win- 

dow. By Leonard Merrick. 

304. The Devastators. By Ada Cam- 

bridge. 


“ In Appletons’ Town and Country Library a poor book has not yet been pub- 
lished.”— Tb/cdo Bee. 

‘‘The high average of merit maintained in the Town and Country series 
is very uoXxceaXAe.''' --Philadelphia Telegraph. 

‘‘ You are always sure of being thoroughly entertained whenever you make a 
selection from Appletous’ Town and Country Library .” — Boston Herald. 

‘‘ It is surprising how good an average is maintained by the Appletons in their 
series of current fiction known as the Town and Country WhxsxY."— Milwaukee 
Free Press. 

‘‘ In selecting books for summer reading, one may always feel sure of getting 
something worth reading if they are of Appletons’ Town and Country Library.” 
— Boston Times. , 

‘‘ The fact that it is one of the Town and Country Library is a guarantee of 
its excellence, as only the choicest and best stories are selected for this series.” 
— Dubuque Herald. 

‘‘ This series is one of most remarkable excellence, and its reputation has be- 
come such that it is by no means an easy matter to find just the work to keep it 
up to its standard .” — Boston Traveller. 

‘‘The assured excellence of D. Appleton and Company’s Town and Country 
Library is a great assistance in purchasing the light literature which is a part of 
the necessary equipment for travel or for the summer months in the country.” 
— Chicago £lite. 

‘‘ The publishers of the Town and Country Library have been either particularly 
sagacious or very fortunate in the selection of the novels that have appeared in 
this excellent series. No one is lacking in positive merit, and the majority are 
much above the average fiction of the day. Any person who likes a good story 
well told can buy any issue in the Town and Country Library with the utmost con- 
fidence of finding something well worth while .” — Boston Beacon. 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 


BOOKS BY C C. HOTCHKISS 


The Strength of the Weak. 

I imo. Cloth, 50. 

The delightful outdoor quality of Mr. Hotchkiss’s novel forms a charming 
accompaniment to the adventurous happenings of the romance The author 
has found some apt suggestions in the diary of a soldier of the New Hampshire 
Grants, and these actual experiences have been utilized in the development of 
the tale. The story is one of love and daring and American courage, and the 
varying outdoor scenes which succeed each other as the tale unfolds provide a 
picturesqueness and zest which show the increasing power of an author whose 
previous books have won for him a large circle of admirers. 

Betsy Ross. 

A Romance of the Flag. i2mo. Cloth, ;^i.5o. 

“ A novelized drama, and a right good one, too, with plenty of stir, patriot- 
ism, and love.” — New York World. 

“ ‘ Betsy Ross ’ reaches the American ideal in fiction. It is the long- 
looked-for American novel. Stirring, intense, dealing with great native 
characters, and recalling some of thd noblest incidents connected with our 
national history, it is the one novel of the time that fulfills the ideal that we 
had all conceived, but no one had before accomplished.” — Philadelphia Item. 

In Defiance of the King. 

izmo. Cloth, ^i.oo; paper, 50 cents. 

“Asa love romance it is charming, while it is filled with thrilling adventure 
and deeds of patriotic daring.” — Boston Ad'vertiser. 

“ A remarkable good story. . . . The heart beats quickly, and we feel 
ourselves taking a part in the exciting scenes described, the popular breeze seizes 
upon us and whirls us away into the tumult of war.” — Chicago Evening Post. 

A Colonial Free-Lance. 

I zmo. Cloth, ^i.oo; paper, 50 cents. 

“ A fine, stirring picture of the period, full of brave deeds, startling though 
not improbable incidents, and of absorbing interest from beginning to end.” — 
Boston Transcript. 

“ A brave, moving, spirited, readable romance. Every one of his pages is 
aglow with the fire of patriotism, the vigor of adventure, and the daring of 
reckless bravery.” — Washington Times. 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 


RECENT FICTION. 


The Man Who Knew Better. 

By T. Gallon, author of Tatterley,^’ etc. Illustrated by 
Gordon Browne. 8vo. Cloth, ^1.50. 

“The best Christmas story that has appeared since the death of Charles 
Dickens. . . . It is an admirably written story, and merits warm welcome and 
broad recognition .” — Baltimore Sun. 

Under the Skylights. 

3 y Henry B. Fuller, author of «‘The Chevalier of Pensieri- 
Vani,” “The Cliff Dwellers,” etc. i 2mo. Deckle edge, gilt 
top, ^1.50. 

The charming humor, delightful flavor, and refined quality of Mr. Fuller’s 
work impart a peculiar zest to this subtly satirical picture of the extraordinary 
vicissitudes of arts and letters in a Western metropolis. 

The Apostles of the Southeast. 

By Frank T. Bullen, author of “The Cruise of the Cachalot,” 
“Idyls of the Sea,’* etc. izmo. Cloth, 

“Mr. Bullen writes with a sympathy and pathetic touch rare indeed. His 
characters are living ones, his scenes full of life and realism, and there is not a 
page in the whole book which is not brimful of deepest interest.” — Phila- 
delphia Item. 

The Alien. 

By F. F. Montresor, author of Into the Highways and 
Hedges,” etc. izmo. Cloth, ^1.50. 

“ May be confidently commended to the most exacting reader as an absorb- 
ing story, excellently told .” — Kansas City Star. 

While Charlie Was Away. 

By Mrs. PouLTNEY Bigelow. i6mo. Cloth, 75 cents. 

Mrs. Bigelow tells a wonderfully vivid story of a woman in London “smart?* 
life whose hunger for love involves her in perils, but finds a true way out in 
the end. 


D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 


MR. STOCKTON'S NEW NOVEL. 


KATE BONNET. 

The Romance of a Pirate’s Daughter. By Frank 
R. Stockton. Illustrated by A. I. Keller. i2mo. 
Cloth, 1 1. 50. 

“ Kate Bonnet” is a novel of love, incident, adventure, and 
humor, and it has been called the most delightful book that Mr. 
Stockton has given us. A new story by this author is an event 
in itself, and the event becomes doubly significant when we find 
such a joyous mingling of quaint humor and unexpected incident 
as is presented in “Kate Bonnet.” The daughter of an aspiring 
amateur, who burns to become a professional pirate — the charm- 
ing Kate — beset with lovers as well as perils, struggles to lead her 
father out of darkness and to rescue him from the wrath to come. 
Captain Bonnet and the aggravatingly loyal Scotch Presbyterian 
who officiously strives to save his soul, are creations of a distinct- 
ive individuality. The romance, which includes in its scenes 
Barbadoes and other West Indian points and our southern sea- 
board, is full of the unexpected turns and delightfully humorous 
situations that Mr. Stockton alone can develop. Nothing so 
fresh, picturesque, and amusing has been presented for a long 
time, despite the multiplication of novels. Mr. Keller’s appreci- 
ation of '‘Kate Bonnet” is shown in the charming quality of the 
full-page illustrations and the dainty head-pieces which furnish an 
effective accompaniment to the sparkling flow of Mr. Stockton’s 
story. It will be of interest to book-lovers to know that “ Kate 
Bonnet” is printed from a specially designed and peculiarly 
handsome type, used in this book for the first time. 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



mar 29 1902 


1 COPY BEL. T0CAT.DIV. 

MAR. 29 1902 


APR. 3 1902 


4 


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s’ 4 ’'’- 

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